A First Round Gut Punch - Yankees v Dodgers (Game 1 Recap)
After spending much of the week fully enthralled in all the pomp, circumstance, and Morgan Freeman voiceover montages that the World Series has to offer - I found myself much more eager than nervous for these games to start.
I was well aware that the quality of opponent had finally reached an acceptable level for all the insufferable pests in my life, but also felt like we stacked up quite well against LA.
While Friday Night was visual proof that we can indeed play with these guys, Game 1 unfortunately also serves as a major missed opportunity for the Yanks to immediately take control of the series.
As my father has said so many times before…”Ya fucked up Boone!”
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the Game 1 Loss is the wasted Gerrit Cole performance. While the strikeout numbers aren’t necessary prime Cole, our little psychopath didn’t shy away from the strike zone against a loaded Dodger lineup, allowing 0 walks and just 4 hits over 6+ innings.
There were undoubtedly some near misses as well as some potential would-be Yankee Stadium souvenirs - but Cole navigating through the heart of the Dodger lineup 3 times and keeping the Yanks in this game for the entirety of the evening shouldn’t be lost due to the end result.
The most frustrating part of all of this is that the Yankees starting pitching is arguably our biggest advantage in the series. On a night where your ace gives you 6 innings of 1 run ball, you can’t have some injury prone journeyman giving you the same treatment.
Jack Flahrety was essentially able to match Cole’s effort, tossing 5.1 innings of his own. The Yanks had a bit more traffic on the bases, but each time a runner entered scoring position, Flahrety would showcase his wipeout knuckle curve and embarrass whoever was standing in the box (mainly Judge).
The back looks ok from here Cashman!
The Yanks did eventually get to Flahrety in the 6th, thanks to a leadoff single by Soto and yet another Playoff Stanton moonshot.
I truly don’t know where we’d be without this guy. What began as “tongue in cheek” applause, has now developed into nightly praise that still somehow feels like an understatement for G’s dominance. Every game it’s a massive tank job, in a massive moment. Had it not been for several inexcusable miscues (which we’ll get to shortly), this 2-run jack would’ve proved to be the eventual game winner.
Then of course our old friend - “Gleyber’s lackadaisical defense” reemerged just in time to fuck up the winning effort. A Shohei Ohtani rocket double turned into a triple after Torres lazily backhanded a short hop that skipped into no-man’s land.
LA then cashed in on their second sac fly opportunity via shotty defense to tie the game at 2. However, the stage would soon be set for Torres’s redemption in the 9th.
Obviously the broadcast couldn’t wait to make the Jeffrey Maier comparisons, but there’s one big difference here. This fucking idiot was leaning over the fence to snag a go-ahead homer for the OPPOSING team.
This sums up LA sports fandom entirely. This could’ve cost his team the game, but this bozo didn’t care, as long as he was able to snag the $8 souvenir to validate the shitty story he’ll retell every time he and his friends get into a bag of coke. Truly disgusting behavior.
The outcome was unchanged as Torres would be stranded on 2nd regardless of whether this adult diaper model reached over the wall. Regardless, the whole thing made me irrationally angry and it made me realize that the only thing this fanbase deserves is a tidal wave to their Malibu beach houses.
While it took 2 rounds and 10 innings, it was damn nice of Jazz Chisholm to show up for this year’s playoffs. His leadoff single and two stolen bases put him in position to score on an Anthony Volpe groundout with the infield playing in.
Jazz also made a sick play at third (while also playing in) to keep the Dodgers from scoring in a similar situation. His overall effort tonight is definitely a positive to take away from a night that would turn miserable just 20 minutes later.
With Holmes, Kahnle, and Weaver used earlier in the game, it was up to Jake Cousins to work through the bottom of the Dodger order and secure the Game 1 victory.
A walk and an infield single (potentially a game ending DP) ended Cousins’ night as Shohei Ohtani came up to the plate.
It was at this moment that Aaron Boone couldn’t resist the smell of his own shit and brought in Nestor Cortes in relief over …I don’t know - anyone who has pitched in the past 40 days? Or anyone who is comfortable coming out of the pen?
Nestor was actually able to retire Ohtani thanks to Alex Verdugo making one of the most impressive catches you’ll never remember. Boone then intentionally walked Betts to load the bases for Freeman. The rest will live in your respective social media feeds forever.
If you’re gonna give Freeman a 93 mph cookie down the middle, why not cut out the middle man and chuck that shit over the fence yourself?
I know this might come across as Monday Morning Quarterbacking, but this game was won if Tim Hill comes in. He’s dominated lefties our entire playoff run! Worse case scenario we have a guy who can’t run making soft contact to end the game.
This was beyond mindless. Are we trying to force storylines or win the World Series? Do fucking better.
That sucked. There’s no other way to put it. We had a shot to put this team on the ropes and instead we have ourselves in a pseudo “must-win” just 4 hours into the World Series.
We pitched this game well enough to win, but even the most optimistic/moronic Yankee fans can’t expect this type of effort moving forward. Time to hit the fucking ball boys!
Hey Aaron, it was great seeing you take pictures with Jeter pregame. How about you fucking act like him and get this time up off the mat. You have your first real adversity this post season. It’s time for the captain to bring this team back before it’s too late.
