Inside The Pinstripes

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

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes got honest about his fateful outing in Game 1 of the World Series.

Grant Young

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr (65) talks to the media prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr (65) talks to the media prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
In this story:

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.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

Home/News