It was the debacle to end all debacles.

A miscommunication between Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a routine ground ball contributed to one of the most cataclysmic innings in Yankees history on Wednesday, as the Bombers let Game 5 slip away and fall to the Dodgers, who rallied. to a 7-6 victory to win the 2024 World Series.

“I think I took the ball from a bad angle,” Cole told reporters as the dust settled from a disastrous fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. “I wasn’t really sure how hard he hit.

“I made a direct angle to (the grounder), like I wanted to cut it off, because I didn’t know how hard he hit it. By the time the ball got to me I wasn’t in a position to cover first. Neither of us (myself and Rizzo) were. Based on the spin of the baseball, and (Rizzo) having to secure it, and just a bad read of the bat…’

The Yankees had a five-run lead in the top of the fifth inning and looked ready to keep their World Series dreams alive.

That all fell apart after a series of blunders, including a botched throw to third base by shortstop Anthony Volpe and a muffed line-drive catch by Aaron Judge, that allowed the Dodgers to get back into the game.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Dodgers star Mookie Betts hit a grounder to first base, with Rizzo failing to charge as Cole – who initially ran for the bag – stopped.

“Those right-handed balls, those are the hardest balls for us (first basemen coming into the field) … I kind of went for it, and then he kicked one way, so I really had to make sure I hit him was the first to catch,” Rizzo explained. then.

“I looked up and turned (the ball to Cole) and, um, that’s what happened…”

Los Angeles’ five runs in the fifth tied the game, and two more in the eighth proved to be the difference.

“Pitchers are always taught to get over it no matter what,” Rizzo said. “It was just a weird spinning (ball) that I really had to take care of (securing). And I think even if I got through (and went straight to first place), I don’t know if I would have (got) it.

In addition to contemplating the ‘woulda’, ‘coulda’, ‘shoulda’ moments of the World Series, Rizzo is now entering unsettled waters as a looming free agent.

“The uncertainty of what this clubhouse will look like next year is certainly in the air. But when you lose like this, all you have to do is hug each other and let each other know how much they mean to you,” he said.

Rizzo has been with the Yankees since July 2021, when he was traded by the Cubs midseason.