The intentional walks that defined Game 1 of the Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers and Yankees boast the two best lineup gauntlets in the sport, a terrifying trio of hitters in the heart of the order that can change a game at any moment. It’s enough to make any manager squeamish, faced with often impossible choices to make.

After Shohei Ohtani popped out in foul territory to left fielder Alex Verdugo in the 10th inning — an incredible catch that was mostly forgotten thanks to the ending of Game 1 — momentum took Verdugo over the wall and out of play, which awarded Gavin Lux and Tommy Edman an extra base, moving them to second and third base with two outs.

With left-hander Nestor Cortes in the game — his first appearance since September 18, after dealing with an elbow strain — the Yankees opted to intentionally walk the right-handed Mookie Betts to face the left-handed Freddie Freeman.

“Just taking the left-on-left matchup there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “No, I didn’t deliberate long.”

“We’ve been seeing it all year. They’ve been walking Shohei to get to Mookie, Mookie to get to me,” Freeman said. “That’s what’s so good about our lineup. It’s a tough matchup no matter where you are, trying to pitch.”

We did see this happen at times, especially late in the season when Shohei Ohtani heated up down the stretch. Faced with a dire situation, the opposing manager walked Ohtani intentionally to get to Betts, who made them pay with a game-breaking home run in Anaheim and a go-ahead single to open the floodgates in Atlanta.

It’s usually in a very critical spot, when the manager seemingly has no other option to try to escape and/or limit the damage.

The Dodgers were on the other end of that call in the ninth inning. Michael Kopech got the first two outs, but then gave up a double to Gleyber Torres. That ball hit by Torres was caught by a fan in left field, who reached over the wall to grab it and was called for fan interference, another key moment swept under the rug by the incredible ending.

With Torres on second base, the Yankees terrifying gauntlet was next. Juan Soto, who walked and singled earlier, was intentionally walked so the right-handed Blake Treinen could face Aaron Judge, who merely hit 58 home runs this season with a 218 wRC+ that is the best ever by a right-handed batter in the American or National Leagues in the modern era.

Judge, who struck out three times against starter Jack Flaherty, popped out to shortstop Tommy Edman to end that threat.

“It’s never easy,” manager Dave Roberts said of the call to intentionally walk Soto to face Judge. “It’s never comfortable. You’ve just got to sort of believe in your process and the matchup that you got right there. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Treinen stayed in for the 10th inning, and allowed a run, something he’s only done twice in his last 22 appearances and 24⅔ innings dating back to August 24. He would have been on the hook for the loss had Freeman not delivered the walk-off hit.

Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. This time, the Dodgers are up 1-0 in the World Series.