There are few things more dramatic in baseball than a walk-off home run in the World Series. From Freddie Freeman’s first-of-its-kind Game 1 grand slam that turned Dodger Stadium into blue heaven to Kirk Gibson’s Game 7 shot in the 1988 World Series that became one of the most famous moments in MLB history, there is plenty of drama to be found in this year’s Fall Classic.
But for most of the night, the big moments came from a Yankees bench that couldn’t get its act together in an attempt to keep their lead intact against Los Angeles. From a muffed fly ball by Aaron Judge to Gerrit Cole’s failed cover-first attempt on a grounder from Teoscar Hernandez, the Yankees committed three egregious errors that opened up the door for the Dodgers’ comeback.
The blunder by left-hander Nestor Cortes in the eighth inning was a stunner. With the Dodgers holding a two-run lead and a tired bullpen, manager Dave Roberts opted to bring in Cortes on his first pitch with runners on first and second. He got Will Smith to fly out, but then walked Gavin Lux and Tommy Edman to put runners on the corners with one out for Shohei Ohtani.
After Ohtani fouled off a couple of pitches and then struck out, Blake Treinen came in to strand both runners and end the inning with Los Angeles up 6-5. The NL Championship Series resumes Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. Download the USA TODAY app for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling and more.