What a waste! 183km Ohtani bullet double → opponent's fault → Betts sacrifice fly, 2-2 tie until the 8th inning
Oct 26, 2024
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The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are running 2-2 parallel until the eighth inning in Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on the 26th (Korea time).
The good pitching of both teams' starting pitchers dominated until the middle. Dodgers starter Jack Fleherty allowed five hits, one walk, six strikeouts and two runs in five ⅓ innings, and Yankees starter Gerrit Cole allowed four hits, four strikeouts and one run in six innings.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers retired with a deep fly to center field in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning and a swing and miss in the third inning, and then hit a ground ball to shortstop in the sixth inning to advance the leading runner. He then hit a delightful double in the eighth inning and homered. Yankees Aaron Judge struck out swinging in the top of the first inning, struck out swinging in the third inning, and struck out swinging in the sixth inning, but he escaped his silence by hitting a heavy hit in the seventh inning.
When the Dodgers opened the scoring with Will Smith's sacrifice fly after Kiké Hernandez's triple in the bottom of the fifth inning, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer to the left in the top of the sixth inning. Mookie Betts hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning with one out and a third baseman set up by Ohtani's superior double and an opponent's error to re-balance 2-2.
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After one out in the top of the first inning, the Yankees got on base with Juan Soto's straight walk. After Judge struck out swinging, shortstop Tommy Edman missed Stanton's ground ball to the side, resulting in a two-out, first and second bases. However, Jaz Chisom Jr. hit a ground ball to the second base to end the inning scoreless.
After two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Freddie Freeman hit a triple on the left-field line, but Teoscar Hernandez's straight hit was caught by shortstop Anthony Wolfie and failed to score.
The Yankees had an infield hit in the top of the second inning when Anthony Rizzo, the leader, hit the pitcher's foot and ran to third base, but all three subsequent hitters were forced to make a mistake. In the top of the third inning, the Yankees got on base with a shortstop infield hit, but Soto hit a shortstop double play and Judge struck out swinging.
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After one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Dodgers created an opportunity by hitting Kike's 97.2 miles outside Cole's fastball, falling to the right of right fielder Soto, and hitting a triple flowing against the fence. Smith then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring Kike home. Soto's home throw came in accurately on a two-bound basis, but Kike's left hand, headfirst sliding, touched the home first.
However, the Yankees turned the tables in the top of the following sixth inning. Stanton's bat exploded after Judge struck out swinging after leading Soto hit a heavy hit. In 1B2S, Fleherty pulled a 79.4-mile knuckle curve toward his fourth pitch and connected it with a two-run homer that went wide inside the left foul pole to turn the tide 2-1. Stanton's 6th home run of the postseason with an angle of 35 degrees, a batting speed of 116.6 miles and a distance of 412 feet.
The Dodgers had a fierce chase in the second half of the game, but they could hardly make up for the score. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Edman hit a double on the right-field line to create a scoring position. Ohtani's ground ball to shortstop made it to third base with one out. However, Betts' hitting ball caught third baseman Chizom Jr., and Freeman hit a fly ball to right field to end the inning.
At the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing 1-2, Teosca knocked Cole on a heavy hit, pulled out, and Max Muncy got on base after being hit by a changed pitcher Clay Holmes' ball, but after Kike made a sacrifice bunt in front of the catcher, Kike hit a fly ball to shortstop and Gavin Lux hit a ground ball to first base, failing to score again.
However, the Dodgers, which were gradually trailing, brought the game to square one with Ohtani's double as a stepping stone in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ohtani pulled a changeup in the middle of opponent right-hander Tommy Kahnle's second pitch of 87.1 miles, hit a double that hit the top of the right fence, and advanced to third base on the defensive error of opposing shortstop Volpi. The ball, which flew at a launch angle of 19 degrees and 113.9 miles (183 kilometers), hit the top of the fence over the head of Soto. If he had flown two more feet with 378 feet of flying distance, he would have made a home run.
Betts then hit a deep sacrifice fly behind center field to bring in Ohtani, tying the game 2-2.
jhno@sportschosun.com
