LOS ANGELES — — A whole evening of nail biting with a Hollywood ending.

Game 1 of Yankees-Dodgers certainly produced results.

Freddie Freeman hit the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday in a drama-filled opener.

“Possibly the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve had some great ones,” marveled Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Hampered by a badly sprained right ankle, Freeman homered on the first pitch he saw — a 90-mph inside fastball from Nestor Cortes — and raised his bat high before breaking into a trot as the sold-out crowd of 52,394 roared.

“I can’t believe what just happened,” Roberts said. “That’s what makes the Fall Classic a classic, right, because the stars come out and superstars make big plays, get big hits, in the biggest moments. … I’m speechless right now.”

It was reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s stunning homer that lifted Los Angeles over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series at Dodger Stadium — one of the most famous swings in baseball history.

Gibson, sidelined by leg injuries, came off the bench and connected with Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley.

“But I played the whole game,” Freeman said, smiling.

Freeman, an eight-time All-Star who missed three games during the National League playoffs because of his ankle sprain, didn’t have an extra base hit this postseason until he belted a triple in the first inning on Friday.

“It actually felt pretty good,” said Freeman, who will donate his game spikes to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. “We have dealt with it very well over the past six days. I feel pretty good. Right when I ran out to give high-fives to my teammates, I felt pretty good because that was the first time I ran all week. So the ankle is good.’

After the home run, Freeman ran to his father.

“I just screamed in his face. I’m sorry, Dad,” Freeman said, laughing. “He’s been there since I was a little boy, giving me batting practice every day. So this is a moment, it’s my father’s moment.

Giancarlo Stanton launched a two-run homer for New York in this much-hyped, star-studded matchup between two of baseball’s most storied and successful franchises – the third straight World Series opener in extra innings.

‘You can’t sit here and mope. You can’t sit here and complain. You can’t have, coulda, woulda,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. ‘It’s time to go to work. We lost this match. Learn from it. See where we can improve and go out and win the next one.”

In the top of the 10th, Anthony Volpe grounded into a fielder’s choice to shortstop to score Jazz Chisholm Jr. from third base after stealing two bases, giving New York a 3-2 lead.

The speedy Chisholm singled off winning pitcher Blake Treinen and then stole second. After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, Chisholm swept into third base uncontested as Treinen came slowly to the plate and Max Muncy played deep at third base.

Tommy Edman made a diving stop to his left on Volpe’s grounder, but initially couldn’t get it out of his glove. He threw to second to get Rizzo out as Chisholm flew home with the go-ahead run.

But the Dodgers weren’t done yet.

Gavin Lux walked against losing pitcher Jake Cousins ​​with one out in the bottom of the 10th and advanced to second base on Edman’s infield single to second base. Defensive replacement Oswaldo Cabrera knocked the ball down with his glove, but it leaked into the outfield.

That brought up star slugger Shohei Ohtani, a left-handed hitter. Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to his bullpen again for Cortes, a lefty starter who had not pitched since September 18 due to an elbow injury.

After missing the AL playoffs, Cortes was added to the World Series roster on Friday.

“I ran into the (batting) cage and said to the guys in the cage, this game was supposed to be the first baseball game ever on pay-per-view,” Dodgers center fielder Kiké Hernández said.

Left fielder Alex Verdugo made a running catch in foul territory and eliminated Ohtani on Cortes’ first pitch. Verdugo’s momentum sent him tumbling over the low retaining wall, moving both runners up one base, as it became a dead ball in regulation when Verdugo ended up in the stands.

With first base open, New York intentionally walked Mookie Betts to load the bases and set up a lefty-on-lefty matchup of Cortes against Freeman.

“I got there in time for the heater,” Freeman said.

His drive to the right-field pavilion sent Dodgers fans into a frenzy. It was the third walk-off homer in World Series history for a trailing team, following Gibson’s shot and Joe Carter’s drive for the Toronto Blue Jays to win the 1993 World Series against Philadelphia.

Nelson Cruz hit the only other game-ending grand slam in postseason history, for Texas in the 2011 American League Championship Series against Detroit.

“That’s stuff, you’re five years old, right there in the backyard,” Freeman said. “That’s a dream come true, but it’s only one. We have three more.”

This is the twelfth time the Yankees and Dodgers have met in the World Series, the most common matchup in Major League annals, but their previous matchup in October was 43 years ago.

While the Dodgers look for their eighth and second titles in five years, the Yankees are in the Fall Classic for the first time since winning No. 27 in 2009.

The first Series featuring a pair of 50-home run hitters in Judge (58) and Ohtani (54) started quietly as 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty dueled through four scoreless innings. Judge struck out swinging in his first three at bats before singled off Brusdar Graterol with two outs in the seventh.

Ohtani went 0 for 3 before ripping a double off the right field wall in the eighth. He rushed to third base when second baseman Gleyber Torres mishandled Juan Soto’s throw, which proved costly when Ohtani scored on a sacrifice fly by Betts, tying the score.

With two outs in the ninth, Torres sent a long drive to left-center. A fan, wearing a Dodgers jersey, reached over the wall and caught the ball. The officials ruled there was fan interference and gave Torres a double, a call that was confirmed on video replay. The fan immediately left the room.

Soto was walked intentionally before Judge popped out against Treinen to end the inning.

The Dodgers broke through for a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Hernández tripled past Soto in right field and scored on Will Smith’s sacrifice fly.

The Yankees answered right back in the sixth. Soto singled to lead off before Judge struck out for the third time. Stanton followed with a 400-foot shot to leave Flaherty behind for his 17th career postseason homer. Stanton grew up in the nearby San Fernando Valley, not far from Flaherty’s hometown of Burbank.

Stanton, the ALCS MVP, connected on a knuckle curve that hung slightly near the bottom of the strike zone. His sixth homerun in eleven games this postseason came off the ground at 116.6 mph.

After last weekend’s pennant victory in Cleveland, Stanton said, “This is not the trophy I want. I want the next one.”

The Yankees then loaded the bases. Chisholm singled off Anthony Banda to steal second. After Rizzo struckout, Volpe was walked intentionally. Austin Wells reached on an infield single that Edman smothered with a dive to save a run before Verdugo struck out against his former team.

Fernando Valenzuela, winner of the 1981 NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year who died earlier this week at the age of 63, was honored with a moment of silence before the game.

NEXT

Game 2 is Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, with Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón pitching against $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Rodón is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA in three starts this postseason, with 22 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. Yamamoto is 1-0 in three postseason starts with a 5.11 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.

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