Game 1 of the 2024 World Series has come and gone and it did not disappoint. We saw two great starting pitching outings combined with flashes of incredible offense, game altering defense, and history to be made at the end to cap it all off. Here were some takeaways from this incredible Game 1.
Greatest World Series game of all time?
There’s some sites calling it the greatest Game 1 ever but this could very well be the greatest World Series game ever. What else could you want? This game was dramatic the entire way, going from a pitchers duel to a series of lead changes.
There was offense and defense on both sides, and when it came down to it, with the bases loaded in extra innings, in the bottom of the tenth, Freddie Freeman lived out every baseball fan’s childhood dream of hitting a walkoff grand slam in the World Series. He delivered the league’s first ever World Series walkoff grand slam.
While other moments in baseball history like Willie Mays’ over the shoulder catch, Reggie Jackson’s three home run game, Jeter’s Mr. November moment, and Joe Carter’s three-run homer, live in infamy, Freeman’s grand slam will undoubtedly be grouped in with those legendary moments in the game.
Besides the scoring moments we saw fan interference, two broken bats in one at bat, players crashing into the seats to make catches, hometown products shining, pretty much everything you could want in a postseason baseball game.
The Yankees defense is bad enough to lose them this World Series.
While there were some incredible defensive plays from guys like Jazz Chisholm at third base, Anthony Rizzo tracking down a ball over his shoulder in shallow right field, and Alex Verdugo crashing into the left field stands to make a catch in foul ground, the Yankees defense was awful.
It was one of two major reasons why the Yankees lost Game 1. Multiple plays gave Dodgers hitters free bases. While Verdugo made that incredible play in foul ground, earlier in the game he misplayed a ball off the wall that gave the Dodgers a runner at third.
Juan Soto for all the good he provides offensively had a couple of very poor defensive moments. A poor route to a flyball allowed another triple, and a weak throw to second got away from Gleyber Torres allowing Ohtani to reach third and ultimately score the tying run.
The funniest thing about all of these plays is they’re very easy fixes to not let happen again. They’re borderline plays you’d expect most high school outfielders to make, as it seems like the simple things such as routes to the baseball are tough for the corner outfield.
If the defense doesn’t improve, this Dodgers team will continue to capitalize on mistakes and it will be a big part of how the Yankees lost this World Series if that ends up being the result.
The Aaron’s are concerning…
Both Aaron Boone and Aaron Judge have been receiving massive amounts of criticism after the Game 1 loss. Judge’s struggles in the postseason have been known so let’s start with Boone.
The decision-making down the stretch could be considered questionable. Gerrit Cole at 88 pitches arguably dominating the game into the seventh inning is someone that should be out there over a relief pitcher.
Boone received criticism even from former Yankee captain Derek Jeter, and for very fair reason. When you pay your ace the amount you’re paying him, those are the moments you keep him out there for. That decision utilized the bullpen more than it should have been used in this game, and put the Yankees backs against the wall despite not even being down.
The move to Nestor Cortes in extra innings to get Ohtani made some sense. The puzzling delivery of Cortes luckily got Ohtani in one pitch, but going to him over another lefty in Tim Hill was questionable to say the least. Hill has a 1.59 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched this postseason, and his tough-to-read delivery would’ve been just as difficult if not tougher for Dodgers hitters.
Now Aaron Judge on the other hand is getting very concerning for Yankee fans. His postseason slashline has now reached .167/.304/.361 with a .665 OPS. After a three strikeout performance last night where his most productive moment was a hard hit ground ball through the hole at shortstop, many are starting to wonder whether this is a slump or a deeper mental block.
Flaherty needed his offspeed stuff to be good, and it was more than just good.
A big part of concerns with Flaherty going into this start was how often he used his fastball. His offspeed stuff needed to be good and it was great, generating 19 swing and misses compared to Gerrit Cole’s nine swing and misses (across 0.2 more innings pitched).
He got 12 swings and misses on his Knuckle Curve which hovered around 2300-2400 RPM throughout his start. He got another four swings and misses off of his slider and another three off his fastball, which topped out at 96.4 MPH.
Aside from the home run given up to Giancarlo Stanton, Flaherty looked great and went over his strikeout line of 4.5 to tally six strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.
Besides the 2-run HR to Giancarlo Stanton, Jack Flaherty looked incredible tonight working 19 swing & misses in 5.1 IP
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) October 26, 2024
19 swing & misses by pitch:
Knuckle Curve: 12
Slider: 4
Fastball: 3 https://t.co/nK0Hc0xf2r
Dave Roberts managed a fantastic Game 1
The move to go to the bullpen after Flaherty gave up the Stanton home run proved to be a good one. Anthony Banda got a couple of strikeouts to get out of the sixth inning, and Brusdar Graterol would then come in for his first appearance in a month.
Graterol did his job and worked a scoreless seventh inning, only giving up a single to Aaron Judge. Alex Vesia and Michael Kopech came in and did their jobs, and Blake Treinen would allow one run in the 10th, but still get the win for the Dodgers.
Only Treinen threw more than 20 pitches, as Roberts once again manages to limit his bullpen and give them the best matchups possible to give them the best chance at winning the game. He exposed a glaring hole in the Yankees lineup, as the constant stretch of left handed hitters is not going to work against this Dodgers bullpen.