Aaron Boone’s bold decision in Game 1 of the World Series did not pay off on Friday night, and he had to answer questions afterwards about his choice.
Boone’s New York Yankees had taken the lead 3-2 in the top of the 10th inning of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., and were looking to close things out. Jake Cousins had come in to pitch the bottom of the 10th and put two runners on with one out.
That’s when Boone decided to make a pitching change, and he went to Nestor Cortes.
Cortes hadn’t pitch in a game since September 18 and missed the Yankees’ first two postseason series due to an elbow injury. Despite that, Boone chose to go to the southpaw in the most tense situation of the game.
The move looked fine at first as Cortes, a southpaw, got Shohei Ohtani to foul out. Then the Yankees walked Mookie Betts intentionally to load the bases with two outs and bring up another lefty in Freddie Freeman. Freeman went on to hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
Cortes didn’t take the loss in the game because the runs that scored were Cousins’ responsibility, but Cortes certainly bore the weight of the defeat.
Boone had to answer after the game why he chose to make that situation Cortes’ first pitching opportunity in over a month.
“Just liked the matchup. He’s been throwing the ball really well over the last few weeks as he’s gotten ready for this . . . I felt convicted with Nestor in that spot,” Boone said.
Aaron Boone on going to Nestor Cortes Jr. in the 10th.
“Just liked the matchup. He’s been throwing the ball really well over the last few weeks as he’s gotten ready for this . . . I felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.”@MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 26, 2024
That’s a really big spot to put in a guy who hasn’t pitched in several weeks. Boone still feels confident about it.
