Yankees' Aaron Boone Discusses Costly Decision in Game 1 Loss to Dodgers

Why did Boone choose to walk Betts?

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In the bottom of the tenth inning, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone made two decisions that proved costly for the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series. The Yankees took a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the top of the tenth inning and needed to hold the Dodgers without a run for one more inning to seal a win.

The Yankees forced one out and allowed two runners on base before it was Shohei Ohtani's turn to bat. Boone opted to switch his pitchers, putting Nestor Cortes in for Jake Cousins to try and close out the inning.

Cortes would get Ohtani out before the Yankees opted to intentionally walk Mookie Betts to face Freddie Freeman instead. Freeman made the Yankees pay for their decision, hitting the game-winning grand slam to earn the 6-3 win for the Dodgers.

Boone explained after the game that he opted to face Ohtani and Freeman so that left-hander Cortes would pitch against two lefties instead of the right-handed Betts.

"Just taking the left-on-left matchup there," Boone said after the game. "No, I didn't deliberate long."

The decision to use Cortes to close out the game also came under scrutiny, as Cortes had not pitched since Sept. 18. Cortes, who primarily pitched as a starter this season, had not pitched in over a month because of an elbow injury, and had yet to appear in a postseason game this season. With the game on the line though, Boone put his trust in Cortes.

"Just liked the matchup," Boone said. "The reality is he's been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he's gotten ready for this. I knew with one out there, it would be tough to double up Shohei if Tim Hill gets him on the ground and then Mookie behind him is a tough matchup there. So felt convicted with Nestor in that spot."

Ultimately, the Dodgers' lineup came through at the end of the game while the Yankees could not hold on to their narrow lead. Even if the Dodgers did not intentionally walk Betts, there's a chance that Betts could have notched the game-winning RBI or home run. Alternatively, another Yankees pitcher might have allowed the game-winning play. Boone's choices did not work, but it's also possible his other options would have not fared any better.