Aaron Boone blew it.
That was the evaluation of Michael Kay and his YES Network compatriots regarding Boone’s questionable decision to bring Nestor Cortes in during the bottom of the 10th inning in what became a Yankees’ 6-3, 10-inning loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series in Los Angeles.
With runners on first and second and one out, Boone decided to take out righty Jake Cousins and go with Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 18, to face Shohei Ohtani.
Cortes got Ohtani to fly out to left field, thanks to an incredible catch by Alex Verdugo, who fell out of play in left field but held on to the ball, a la Derek Jeter’s famous running catch into the stands against the Red Sox in 2004.
Boone then intentionally walked Mookie Betts to load the bases so Cortes could face lefty slugger Freddie Freeman.
Freeman sat on a first-pitch fastball and made Cortes and the Yankees pay, blasting the game-winning grand slam.
After the brutal loss, Michael Kay ripped Boone’s decision and said he should have gone with lefty Tim Hill, who was warming up in the bullpen at the same time as Cortes.
Ohtani entered his at-bat going only 2-for-12 against Cortes, but Kay still wasn’t buying the decision.
“I don’t care what the numbers say about Nestor Cortes [against Ohtani],” Kay said. “He hadn’t pitched since September 18. Those numbers against Ohtani were every five days [with Cortes as a starter].
“Tim Hill has been lights out for the Yankees,” Kay added. “That’s the guy you bring in. I don’t care about sim games. I don’t care how he looked in the bullpen. That did not seem to be the move to make.”
Jack Curry then brought up the fact that Freeman told Fox’s Ken Rosenthal afterward that he was hunting a first-pitch fastball, and that was what Cortes gave him in trying to get ahead of the count.
Kay and Curry also said Boone’s decision to pull a dominant Gerrit Cole after just 88 pitches was the wrong move because it pushed everyone in the bullpen to come in sooner.
It hurt the Yankees in the end.
Kay said the Yankees blew a big chance to take advantage of a strong start by their ace, who was pulled after giving up a single to the first batter in the seventh inning despite allowing just one run.
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“When you get a start like you did out of Gerrit Cole, you got to win that game,” Kay said, referring to the Bombers’ ace. “This is the reason he’s on the team. Major League Baseball teams don’t have Gerrit Coles, all of them don’t, some do. The Yankees have one, well-rested and pitched [six] really strong innings. Probably should have gone longer and you lose that game. This one stings.”
Regarding the ill-fated Cortes decision, Curry said it wasn’t a second guess, but a “first guess” by him and his Yankees broadcast colleagues who questioned the call right when it was made.
John Flaherty said this was a “brutal” loss for the Yankees because of how aggressively both teams used their bullpens.
“Whoever lost this game is going to be feeling it tomorrow night,” Flaherty said. “Unfortunately for the Yankees, it’s going to be them.”