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Dodgers win nail-biting Game 1 of World Series on Freddie Freeman’s grand slam
OMG. Wow!
Are you kidding me? It's only Game 1 and already World Series heroics.
A walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning!
Freddie Freeman crushed it over the right field fence Friday night to help the Dodgers win an extra inning 6-3 thriller over the New York Yankees.
The sell-out crowd went nuts. Cheers, hugs and kisses at watch parties all over Southern California. And again... it's only Game 1.
“Like it is absolutely phenomenal,” said Louis Luhar, who was celebrating at a bar in Alhambra after the game winning grand slam. “We can do it. We knew we can do it doesn't matter where we are in the game. We are the Dodgers!”
For a second there, it looked like the Yankees were going to take home field advantage away from the Dodgers. In the top of the 10th inning, Jazz Chisolm Jr. made it happen for the Yankees — almost all by himself. He singled to right off of Dodgers relief pitcher Blake Treinen and then stole second, and then stole third. That steal of third was huge. Anthony Volpe came up and hit a grounder to short and Chisolm, Jr. trotted in to score to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
Shohei Ohtani almost added to the heroics himself when he missed a homerun by a few feet — sending a shot to right-center field in the bottom of the 8th inning. It bounced off the wall and he easily beat Juan Soto's throw. The ball then bounced off of Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres' glove and Ohtani sprinted to third. Mookie Betts then brought him home with a deep fly to center field and the game was all tied up at two.
The bats came alive for the Yankees in the top of the sixth inning — stunning the Dodgers sell-out crowd. Giancarlo Stanton blasted a two-run homerun into the left field seats and chased Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty out of the game. Yankees took a 2-1 lead. Up to that point Flaherty had pitched a solid game. For Stanton, it was his sixth homerun of the post-season.
The Dodgers took a brief 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning — all thanks to Kiké Hernandez. He continued his post-season magic with his bat and legs. His one out triple off Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole led to him scoring a batter later when Will Smith hit a fly ball to right field. Hernandez beat out a strong throw by Juan Soto to score. Cole had retired 11 consecutive Dodgers hitters before that.
Some drama involving a fan in the top of the 9th inning when Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres sent a shot to left-center field and a fan reached over the fence and caught the ball.
A fan reached over the fence on this hit by Gleyber Torres resulting in a fan interference call pic.twitter.com/67dm8hrhqm
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 26, 2024
The play was reviewed and ruled fan interference. Torres was awarded second base, but it didn't amount to anything as the Yankees left him stranded.
Flaherty lasted 5 1/3 innings giving up two earned runs, five hits and striking out six.
Cole had a strong outing — going six innings and giving up one earned run, four hits and striking out four.
And we're just beginning. Expect more fireworks from both teams tomorrow afternoon.
Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. L.A. will send Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound. Carlos Rodón will start for the Yankees. First pitch is at 5:08 p.m.