Nestor Cortes Sends Clear Message About World Series Walk-Off Grand Slam After Loss

The New York Yankees suffered a heartbreaking 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

New York took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the tenth inning with reliever Jake Cousins on the mound. Cousins then recorded a flyout for the inning’s first out, walked the next hitter, and then the third hitter reached on an infield single.

At this point, Japanese superstar and likely 2024 NL MVP Shohei Ohtani came up to bat. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had two lefties (Tim Hill and Nestor Cortes) warm in the bullpen to face the left-handed Ohtani, and ultimately went with Cortes — who hadn’t pitched in a game since September 25.

Cortes got Ohtani to fly out on the first pitch while the Dodgers’ runners advanced to second and third. The Yankees then intentionally walked Mookie Betts to bring Freddie Freeman to the plate with the bases loaded.

Cortes threw a first-pitch fastball that Freeman deposited into the right field bleachers for a walk-off grand slam.

An October 26 article from The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner quoted Cortes speaking postgame, saying, “[I] felt better than expected, to be honest,” about his return from injury.

“Throwing in the bullpen, it was really encouraging before they called upon my name. And once I got in, I had all the confidence in the world,” Cortes continued.

Left-handed hitters hit just .202 against Cortes with just two home runs during the regular season. But regular season statistics can often be disregarded in postseason situations like these.

“I know (Freeman) was going to be aggressive,” Cortes said, per Kepner’s article. “I wanted it to be higher for that reason. Just didn’t get it to the spot. Right off the hand it looked okay, but just didn’t get it high enough.”

The Yankees will look to even the World Series against Los Angeles at one game apiece on Saturday night.