1 critical error Aaron Boone made to lose Game 1 of the World Series

It was the first time the New York Yankees have seen a World Series game since 2009. In what was a bit of a see-saw type of game, the Yankees were quick to answer the few runs the Dodgers put on the board.

A Kiké Hernadez triple off Gerritt Cole set up a sac fly from Will Smith. It wasn’t long before Giancarlo Stanton shook up the game with a two-run blast. Later in the game, a bad throw from Juan Soto that was handled poorly by Gleyber Torres allowed Shohei Ohtani to advance to third on a double. He would score on a sac fly from Mookie Betts.

Heading into the 10th inning, it was tied. Jazz Chisholm Jr. stole second and third after a single. Anthony Volpe would ground into a force out allowing him to score. The Yankees entered the bottom of the 10th with a one-run lead. Jake Cousins, who started the bottom half of the inning on the mound for the Yankees would have trouble getting outs. That’s when Aaron Boone made the decision that successfully handed the victory to the trailing Dodgers.

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Aaron Boone taps Nestor Cortes to close out the game

After getting just one out, Boone pulled Cousins for Nestor Cortes leaving two on base. This season hasn’t been Cortes’ best, posting a 3.77 ERA in 174.1 innings. But Cortes’ lack of reliability isn’t the sole the reason why calling on him was a disastrous decision.

Cortes had not pitched since September 18. During that time, he sat on the IL with a left elbow flexor strain. Pulling a pitcher off the IL who hasn’t thrown a live pitch in over a month and throwing him into a pressure cooker World Series matchup with the game on the line having two on base to face the dreaded top of the Dodgers’ order would quickly prove to be a bad decision.

After a great play from Alex Verdugo to retire Shohei Ohtani, the Yankees were one out away from celebrating a Game 1 victory. But the questionable decisions weren’t yet through. Rather than pitch to Betts, the decision was made to load the bases for Freddie Freeman.

It seemed to be the logical move since Freeman is playing with an injured foot, but we’re talking about the same Freddie Freeman that legged out a triple earlier in the game. He also happens to be one of the best hitters in baseball. Nonetheless, an empty bag at third base would soon be occupied by Gavin Lux to make room for Freeman on first. What happened next?

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Freeman sent a baseball high into the Los Angeles night sky, clearing the right centerfield fence, hitting the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. More importantly, it sealed a World Series Game 1 win for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For the Yankees, another blown save could be quite accurately summed up by Aaron Boone’s expression (no press conference necessary):

There weren’t any words necessary. Boone’s face said it all. But not unlike Joe Girardi in the 2017 ALDS, Boone will soon find the battle is far from over.

Yankee fans only hope Boone will learn from his mistakes or those mistakes can quickly draw the battle to a close for him and potentially his job (Girardi did not return as the Yankees’ manager in 2018).