LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman lifted his bat to the sky and watched it fly.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ hobbled first baseman, who has spent all month playing through a badly sprained right ankle, came up with the bases loaded, his team trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, and delivered a walk-off grand slam, electrifying a sold-out Dodger Stadium and sending his team to an improbable 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
It marked the third walk-off homer in the World Series in franchise history, along with Max Muncy (Game 3 in 2018) and Kirk Gibson (Game 1 in 1988).
The Yankees had taken the lead in the previous half-inning when Jazz Chisholm Jr., 5-for-34 through his first nine postseason games, lined a one-out single to the right side off Blake Treinen, then stole second base and easily stole third and came around to score on a groundout.
But the Dodgers threatened once again in the bottom half, putting runners on first and second with one out and Shohei Ohtani coming to bat. The Yankees called upon lefty Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 18 because a flexor strain, to spill out of the bullpen to face him.
Ohtani lofted the first pitch into left-field foul territory, prompting a spectacular reaching catch by Alex Verdugo. Both runners moved up a base because Verdugo fell over the fence, allowing both runners to move up 90 feet. The Yankees then opted to intentionally walk Mookie Betts, loading the bases and setting up the lefty-lefty matchup with Freeman.
It didn’t work. The first pitch from Cortes was a 93 mph fastball on the inside corner. Freeman turned on it and sent it 423 feet to right field — a no-doubter that gave the Dodgers a thrilling victory.
The Yankees and Dodgers — two of Major League Baseball’s most stories franchises, residing in its two biggest markets, and representing the two teams with the best records in each league this season — are meeting in the World Series for the 12th time, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics for the most common final-round matchup in all the major sports. As if the matchup couldn’t be any more high-profile, it also features Aaron Judge and Ohtani, the two transcendent stars who will each be named MVP.
But another star shined in Game 1.