LOS ANGELES — Just when it looked like Giancarlo Stanton had powered the Yankees to another postseason victory, the Bombers’ bullpen couldn’t hang on in Game 1 of the World Series.
The Dodgers managed a 6-3, 10-inning win in their home ballpark on Friday, as sloppy defense allowed Shohei Ohtani to reach third base after drilling a one-out double off Tommy Kahnle in the eighth inning.
The Japanese superstar advanced when Gleyber Torres couldn’t handle Juan Soto’s throw to second. Soto appeared to slightly bobble the ball before firing as well.
Ohtani then scored on a sacrifice fly from Mookie Betts with Luke Weaver in the game.
While the Yankees retook the lead in the top of the 10th on a fielder’s choice after two stolen bases from Jazz Chisholm Jr., Freddie Freeman responded with a walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes in the bottom of the frame.
Just like that, the dramatic opener came to a bitter end for the Yankees.
The Dodgers’ late comeback spoiled a two-run moonshot from Stanton, who went deep off of L.A. starter Jack Flaherty in the sixth inning.
Stanton, a Los Angeles native, has now homered in four straight postseason games. However, the ALCS MVP’s latest blast wasn’t enough to carry the Yankees in a game that remained scoreless until the fifth.
Flaherty and Gerrit Cole, also local products, dueled up until that point.
Cole ended up with the better line, totaling six innings, four hits, one earned run, zero walks, four strikeouts and 88 pitches in the third World Series start of his career.
The Dodgers’ only run off the Yankees ace came on a Will Smith sacrifice fly in the fifth. That followed a triple from Enrique Hernández. Soto — a surprising Gold Glove nominee who turned 26 on Friday — didn’t play that ball well either.
Flaherty, who almost went to the Yankees in a trade earlier this season before medical concerns popped up, allowed only the two runs on Stanton’s homer over 5 1/3 innings.
The Yankees had a chance to bounce back in the ninth, as Torres picked up a two-out double. It initially looked like a homer, but a Dodgers fan caught the ball and was called for interference. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Aaron Judge popped up after an intentional walk to Soto.
Judge went 1 for 5 with three strikeouts in the first World Series game of his career.
With a series-opening loss, the Yankees will try to leave Chavez Ravine with the Fall Classic knotted up. A strong performance from Carlos Rodón would go a long way in that effort, as the southpaw is scheduled to start Game 2 on Saturday.
“This lineup’s pretty potent,” Rodón said. “They can definitely swing it, and they have a good idea what the strike zone is.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start for the Dodgers. Like Flaherty, the Japanese righty was pursued by the Yankees within the last year, only to end up in Los Angeles.