Freddie Freeman delivers walk-off gram slam to help Dodgers beat Yankees 6-3

                                         Los Angeles Dodgers #5 Freddie Freeman (1B) walk-off gram slam. Photo by TGSportstv1.

 LOS ANGELES, CA – When the unbelievable happens people often say there’s magic in the air. I would like to believe the smiling soul of Fernando Valenzuela was present at Dodger Stadium watching a hobbled Freddie Freeman do the unthinkable, powering the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 walk-off grand slam win over the New York Yankees.

Freeman on one healthy ankle did the miraculous, hitting the first-ever World Series walk-off grand slam as part of his two-hit, four RBI night. NLCS MVP Tommy Edman was the only other Dodger with two hits on the night in what ended up a pitcher’s duel for the majority of the game.

The game featured tons of local talent including both starting pitchers being SoCal natives who have found their way back. Burbank’s Jack Flaherty gave up two runs while striking out six in five-and-a-third innings for the Dodgers. Gerrit Cole, who was raised in Tustin, gave up one run, striking out four in six innings for the Yankees.

The pitchers almost had opposite stories this season with the Dodgers trying to sign Cole in the offseason and the Yankees trying to pry Flaherty away from the Tigers earlier this season.

With all the storylines of a Hollywood blockbuster; New York and Los Angeles, East Coast and West Coast, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, there was a somber start to the World Series. The Dodgers organization held a touching tribute for the iconic Valenzuela, who passed away on Tuesday sending shockwaves throughout the Dodger community.

There was a montage of Valenzuela’s highlights, followed by a lively musical tribute, which had the stadium erupting singing and dancing along. Afterward, Valenzuela’s wife and four kids joined the field followed by a moment of silence. Dodger legend Orel Hershiser donned a Number 34 Valenzuela jersey as he took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch. However, Hershiser instead placed the ball on the mound as a sign of respect, paying homage to the legend. 

Cole got into trouble to start the game as Freeman slapped a knuckleball that curved up the third base line. It took an unexpected bounce off the wall, which was misplayed by the outfielder as the hobbled Freeman was able to stretch the hit into a triple.

“Stop!” said Dave Roberts when asked about what he thought when he saw Freeman legging out the triple. “He was already in scoring position, but he’s a baseball player. He was more content with getting to third base, the extra 90 feet but I was happy he came out of it upright.”

Fortunately for New York, Tesocar Hernandez lined out to end the threat leaving Freeman stranded 90 feet from scoring.

Flaherty was dealing early, striking out two in the first three innings. His command of his fastball, curve, and knuckleball had the high-powered offense of the Yankees stifled.

In the top of the third Gleyber Torres hit a rocket deep into the infield, which seemed like a sure-fire base hit. Edman showcased his athleticism snagging it, turning, and firing to first but just missed on the throw. Thankfully a double-play ball by Juan Soto made up for it to clean the bases.

Judge stepped to the plate looking to unload some of his six-foot-seven-inch power, taking massive cuts but Flaherty was able to strike him out swinging for the second time, on a nasty spinning curveball.

In the bottom of the fourth, Cole continued his shutout performance dealing a pair of fastballs nearing 100 mph. Both pitches shattered Freeman's bats on back-to-back swings against Cole, showing the power of the former CY Young winner, who was scoreless through four.

The Dodgers changed their offensive gameplan in the fifth with Max Muncy trying to bunt to manufacture some scoring but misplayed his attempt. He struck out swinging, completely missing on a 97-mph fastball from Cole.

Kike Hernandez stepped to the plate and cracked a ball that curved just outside the outstretched hands of Soto as he sprinted into third base with one out. Will Smith followed hitting a deep sacrifice fly, which was just far enough for Hernandez to tag. Soto fired a missle towards home that was close at the plate but Hernandez was able to slide just around the tag. The Dodger faithful electrified the stadium with cheers as they celebrated the 1-0 lead.

The excitement was short-lived when Giancarlo Stanton hit a towering two-run moonshot into the leftfield seats. The 412-foot bomb by the Panorama City-native shifted the balance of the game giving New York a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning.

“Let’s go Yankees” chants started to echo through the stadium and Flaherty would make one more pitch before being pulled. One bad pitch changed the dynamic of the game.

In the bottom of the eighth Ohtani cracked a changeup that was feet away from a home run, bouncing off the outfield wall. The throw took a bad bounce off of Torres' glove allowing Ohtani to take third base. A sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts scored Ohtani tying the game 2-2.

Micheal Kopech entered in the ninth inning and with two outs Torres took a ball 374 feet into centerfield. An overzealous Dodger fan reached over the overfield wall to snag the ball in his glove. The umpire immediately signaled spectator interference and Torres took second base as the fan was escorted out by security.

An intentional walk to Juan Soto followed and with a runner in scoring position, Judge popped out in the infield to end the threat.

After a scoreless ninth inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a single for his second hit of the night. The speedy midseason acquisition then stole second and third for the Yankees. Anthony Volpe followed with a weak grounder to Edman but he fumbled the ball missing the double play opportunity to escape the inning unscathed. Chisholm Jr. scored on the hit giving the Yankees a 3-2 win.

In the bottom of the tenth Edman redeemed himself smoking an infield hit after a Gavin Lux walk. With a runner in scoring position, Ohtani stepped to the plate as the more than 72,000 in rose to their feet.

You couldn’t write a better Hollywood script, the best hitter in the world, down a run in extra innings in the World Series with the winning run on first base.

Yankees skipper Aaron Boone elected to go with Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched since September 18th.

In an anti-climatic turn of events for the Dodgers, Ohtani fouled his first pitch along foul territory but Alex Verdugo caught the ball while cartwheeling into the stands.

Boone then intentionally walked Betts, loading the bases, choosing to deal with the gimpy Freeman instead. On his first pitch, he rewrote the script that was in front of Ohtani. Channeling his inner Kirk Gibson he took a 93-mph fastball in the bottom of tenth with two outs, 432 feet into the stands. The first-ever walk-off grand slam in World Series history gave the Dodgers the 6-3 in as the stadium erupted into celebration.

“This is the scenario you kinda dream about,” said Freeman. “Bases loaded, two outs in a World Series game, and for it to actually happen, to hit a home run and walk it off, to give us a 1-0 lead that’s as good as it gets right there.”

The similarities between Freeman’s and Gibson’s legendary home runs are borderline magical. Freeman’s walkoff home came at 8:39 pm, one minute after Gibson’s legendary homer in 1988. Both were battling leg injuries and hobbled around the bases on their trot. Both were left-handed and happened to start the World Series, giving their teams a 1-0 series lead in game one.

“It’s arguably one of the greatest, might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed,” said Roberts. “And I’ve witnessed some great ones. You don’t see teams celebrate after a game a walk-off like that, but it was certainly warranted.”

The Dodgers will look to build on tonight's success as Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the mound against the Yankees in Game Two tomorrow at Dodger Stadium.