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Nestor Cortes of the Yankees gives up the walk-off in the World Series against the Dodgers

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Nestor Cortes of the Yankees gives up the walk-off in the World Series against the Dodgers

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LOS ANGELES – As Freddie Freeman turned Dodger Stadium into a blue sky Friday night, Nestor Cortes made the long, arduous journey there that was often hell for those on the wrong side of history.

Here's the thing about walk-off home runs, like Freeman's game-ending first grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series: There's just no way around grumpily trudging through someone else's group and into your own dungeon of demons.

After Freeman destroyed the first pitch, Cortes threw it into the top 10Th Cortes was furious as he sent the inning 409 feet into an insane right field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, turning a one-run New York Yankees lead into a 6-3 Dodgers victory.

And then he became pragmatic, immediately sitting down and watching a replay of the fateful pitch — a fastball that also should have been two or three inches higher.

And then he took perspective and decided not to think about the fact that his name was forever enshrined in baseball history, a lasting connection to Ralph Branca and Dennis Eckersley and Mariano Rivera and Mitch Williams, pitchers who may have been outstanding, but gave up at the worst of times.

No, for Cortes, failure is not hell.

Hell sat and watched helplessly as the Yankees marched to their first World Series since 2009 while he lounged on the shelf, repairing his elbow, throwing meaningless throws in bullpen sessions and hoping his elbow would stop long enough to bark to join the cause.

And even when the worst happened, as Cortes took the mound for the first time in 37 days, the 29-year-old left-hander barely paused to wallow.

“When I came in here I didn’t feel sorry for myself. I had the feeling that I was letting my team down,” says Cortes, who only played for the second time since 2021. “The guys scratched and scratched for three runs. The bullpen held it. Obviously (Gerrit) Cole had a great game.

“It's just a shame that I couldn't support the boys. Everyone's focused on, “Ohtani, Ohtani, Ohtani.” And we'll get him out, but Freeman is a really good hitter too.

“I just couldn’t get the work done today.”

In fact, the great Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers' 50-homer, 50-steal man, was on the Yankees' minds all night, lurking at the top of the team. When Cole hit a beautiful four-hit gem in the seventh inning, players in the Yankee bullpen were acutely aware of how soon Ohtani would be hitting as the Dodgers' lineup rolled over.

For his part, Cortes said he was ready to stretch his body and prepare his mind as early as the fourth inning. And as Game 1 neared its end and the Dodgers scored a game-winning run in the eighth inning thanks to an Ohtani double, a Gleyber Torres error and a Mookie Betts sacrifice fly, things got serious for the lefties down there.

The Yankees' top relievers are all right-handed, and they were all exhausted by the ninth inning, when Luke Weaver retired from his 1⅔-inning stint.

Righty Jake Cousins ​​would be selected for the save. One clean inning against the Dodgers' 7-8-9 hitters and there would be no Ohtani, no Betts, no Freeman to hurt the Yankees, and they would sleep with a 1-0 series lead on Friday night go.

But these games are not scripted. And when Cousins ​​gave Gavin Lux a one-out walk and Tommy Edman stroked a single that went under second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera's glove, there was no escape from Ohtani.

Down in the bullpen, Cortes warmed up alongside Tim Cousins, whose job description is literally “late-inning lefty reliever.” And he had done great this postseason, striking out 17 of 22 batters and giving up just one run.

Boone came to the mound and gestured toward the bullpen with his left arm. One overhand move and Boone wanted Cortes. A sneaky move, and Boone wanted Hill.

Boone went up and Cortes found himself in a seemingly impossible situation.

He had pitched out of the bullpen once this season and wasn't too happy about it, taking on an important role in a game in September. Three weeks later, his elbow aggravated and he threw his last pitch of the regular season on September 18 in Seattle.

The Yankees would win the AL East, defeat Kansas City and Cleveland, and win seven of their first nine postseason games. And Cortes felt helpless, if not completely hopeless.

“It’s hard to watch from the dugout,” he says. “It's a little more nerve-wracking when you know there's nothing you can do to provide for the team, to help. Just watching them play through the (Division Series) and (ALCS), I knew how hard they fought and fought and I wanted to be there for them too.”

So Cortes lobbied for inclusion on both the ALDS and ALCS lists, but was rebuffed. After two simulated appearances following the ALCS, he finally convinced the Yankees that he was healthy enough to play in the World Series.

Healthy enough. Not healthy.

There's something wrong with Cortes' elbow that makes him not unlike hundreds of pitchers in organized baseball. But there are degrees to suboptimal health, and Cortes' display tends to flash in the red.

Doesn't matter. He put his wishes on the table in a media video call after a pre-series throwing session.

“If I have a ring, it’s a year off from baseball,” he said, “so be it.”

The Yankees were thrilled to have him. Although it wasn't a large sample size, he had beaten Ohtani with two singles in 12 at-bats in their previous meetings.

And when Boone waved him into the game and the Yankees led 3-2, Cortes responded and sent Ohtani back on a pitch – a soft flight into foul territory in left field, where Alex Verdugo made an excellent catch over a short one Wall collapsed into a seating area.

“The reality is that he's been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he's been preparing,” Boone Cortes said of Hill. “I knew with one out there it was going to be hard to double Shohei when Tim Hill got him (to hit a ground ball) and then Mookie behind him is a tough opponent there. I felt confident in Nestor at this point.”

Problem solved?

Barely. Boone opted to load the bases by intentionally walking Betts, putting the winning run in scoring position but maintaining the left-on-left matchup with Freeman.

They met on the Hill to discuss Freeman. Ohtani had swung on the first pitch, and earlier in the game Will Smith had ended a rally with a swing on the first pitch. The ever-patient Dodgers certainly seemed intent on making the Yankees pay by getting into the zone early in the count.

And so Freeman swung the first pitch. One that was a little harder than Cortes expected – 92.5 mph – but a few inches lower than Cortes preferred. And sailed much further than he thought.

It was a jarring welcome back, a 0-for-100 moment for the heart, but the worst of all World Series debuts.

“The adrenaline rush was incredible,” says Cortes. “I was 88, 89 years old in my life, I think I was 92, 93 years old there. I still have more left. I know I will get another chance and I will take the ball when asked.”

The Yankees are counting on it. Cole is their workhorse, and given the Dodgers' patient roster, there's little guarantee that subsequent starters Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil will go as far as Cole did in Game 1.

Cortes will be in demand again.

“Nestor, look, he's recovering from an injury. He gave 100%,” says Cole.

“That’s all we ask.”

All Cortes wanted was to get back in the arena, damn it. And his first taste of World Series failure — the worst kind in World Series history — will not dull that power.

“There is always outside noise that will give an opinion about your career,” he says. “But nobody has gone through the struggle of 162 games and what it takes to be here and the fact that the guys have fought to be in this position, in this situation.

“Like I said, this is what the dream is made of. You grew up watching baseball and living for October. And now we are here.”

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