Associated press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nestor Cortes was so happy to reach the World Series that he was willing to sacrifice his elbow and perhaps millions of dollars.

He finally gave the New York Yankees a 10th-inning lead in Game 1.

“It was within reach,” Cortes complained.

Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in Series history, a two-out drive off Cortes that lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 victory on Friday night.

‘When I came in here, I didn’t feel sorry for myself at all. I felt more like I wanted to let my team down,” Cortes said.

The 29-year-old lefty, nicknamed Nasty Nestor and the Hialeah Kid, stood at his locker for about a dozen minutes, answering questions about his two-pitch performance, his first after a 37-day layoff.

Cortes has been sidelined since September 18 due to a flexion injury in his throwing elbow. He missed the AL Division Series and League Championship Series, but healed enough to be added to the active roster seven hours before game time. He had been more nervous watching the earlier rounds of the postseason than pitching in the World Series.

“You have no control over what happens in the game and at that moment I had control over what I did,” he said.

Cortes, a 2022 All-Star who was eligible for free agency after the 2025 season, was willing to risk a long-term injury for the chance to pitch on baseball’s biggest stage.

“If I have a ring and then a year off from baseball, then so be it,” he said Tuesday.

New York took a 3–2 lead on Anthony Volpe’s RBI grounder in the 10th, and Cortes warmed up in the bullpen alongside fellow left-hander Tim Hill.

Jake Cousins ​​walked Gavin Lux with one out in the bottom half and Tommy Edman singled under the glove of diving second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, bringing up Shohei Ohtani.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone signaled for Cortes by raising his arm. If he extended his hand low, it would have been a signal for the side-armed Hill.

“The adrenaline rush is amazing,” Cortes said.

He started Ohtani with a 90.4 mph fastball, upper middle and inside. The likely NL MVP cut an opposite-field error down the left field line that caught Alex Verdugo on the run just before hitting the low retaining wall and tumbling headlong. into the stands, allowing the runners to advance because it became a dead ball.

Mookie Betts was walked intentionally, which brought up Freeman.

“I’ll just take the left-versus-left matchup there,” Boone said.

Cortes knew there was one more big swing.

“I know everyone is focused on Ohtani, Ohtani, Ohtani, and we’ll get him out. But Freeman is also a very good hitter,” Cortes said.

He threw a 90-mph fastball that drove Freeman 400 feet into the right-field pavilion, an undoubted drive that had the crowd of 52,394 jumping to the point where the stadium shook. Cortes had aimed the field 2 or 3 centimeters higher.

“I thought it reached the inside of the plate where I wanted it, but couldn’t get it up just enough,” he said. “It looked good right away, but it just didn’t go high enough.”

Cortes turned, craned his neck slightly as he leaned, and began walking toward the first base dugout, shaking his head in disbelief.

“When I make my pitch there, it’s obviously a different outcome,” he said. “I didn’t stay on the field long enough to think about it or see him run the bases. I just walked in, turned the page, and then started my workout. Ready again for tomorrow.

Some family and friends had tried to convince him not to return this year to prioritize his elbow.

“This is what the dream of you is. You grow up playing baseball, watching baseball and living in October and now here we are,” Cortes said. “A number of people obviously got in my ear and gave me some advice. I wouldn’t say not to do it, but gave me some advice, the pros and cons of what the situation could have been. But at the end of the day it’s my career, my decision, and I thought it was the best thing for me.”

He thought back to the last walk-off homer he allowed, to Luis García Jr. from Rochester when he pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 20, 2021.

“You don’t forget that,” said Cortes.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb