Game 1 of the most hyped World Series in recent memory exceeded expectations. The Dodgers outlasted the Yankees in an instant classic 10-inning Game 1 on Friday night (LA 6, NY 3 in 10 innings). Freddie Freeman, playing on one good ankle, hit a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning. The Dodgers are three wins away from the eighth championship in franchise history.
Freeman's walk-off grand slam, for more than a few reasons, conjured memories of Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Gibson, who was playing with an injured knee, hit a pinch-hit walk-off homer against Hall of Fame Dennis Eckersley. FOX play-by-play man Joe Davis paid homage to Vin Scully's legendary call on the Gibson homer -- "Right field, she is gone!" -- on Freeman's homer.
Here is Davis' call on Freeman:
And Scully's call on Gibson:
After the game, Freeman was asked about the walk-off grand slam and hitting it while hobbled like Gibson in 1988.
"I played the whole game though," he joked. Gibson pinch-hit in Game 1 in 1988 and did not play again the rest of the series. The walk-off home run was the final postseason at-bat of his career.
"That's iconic," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about how Freeman's walk-off grand slam compared to Gibson's walk-off homer in 1988. "I think if we win three more games, that's going to be right up there with it."
Freeman entered Game 1 with a .219/.242/.219 postseason slash line, and looked nothing like his usual self. He had four days to rest his ankle after the Dodgers won the NLCS last Sunday, and it sure seems like the rest did him some good. Freeman tripled in his first at-bat of Game 1, then hit the walk-off grand slam in the tenth.
The Yankees will start lefty Carlos Rodón in Game 2 on Saturday. Freeman sat out Games 4 and 6 of the NLCS against lefty starters. It's possible he could sit out Saturday's game as well. Then again, the ankle looked good in Game 1, and he certainly swung the bat well. I bet Freeman is in the Game 2 lineup.