In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, an injured Kirk Gibson, who could barely walk, let alone run the bases, came to bat against Dennis Eckersley. After fighting his way to an eight-pitch at-bat, Gibson launched a two-run walk-off home run to give the Dodgers the early series lead.

Flash forward 36 years later and Freddie Freeman, managing to play through a sprained ankle, capped Nestor Cortes’ heroics for the Dodgers by hitting a walk-off grand slam, the first in World Series history. The Dodgers now hold the early 1-0 series lead over the New York Yankees in the 2024 Fall Classic.

Entering the World Series, Freeman had become an offensive liability, with seven hits in 33 at-bats in the NLDS and NLCS. None of these hits resulted in extra bases.

So it came as a surprise to see Freeman, four weeks removed from the initial ankle injury, belt out a hustle triple after the ricochet bounced off the left field wall away from left fielder Alex Verdugo. For a player who struggled to even hit first base on routine groundouts last round, it was a sigh of relief to see him with his usual mobility.

“The past week has been very good for me. The first time I ran was when I ran out to give high fives to my teammates when we were introduced,” Freeman said after Game 1.” I tried to avoid running as much as possible this week, dealt with it as much as I could. . So I felt pretty good going into today.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers couldn’t capitalize on Freeman’s triple in the first inning, as Teoscar Hernández lined to short stop Anthony Volpe to end the inning.

The Dodgers’ hits came sparingly against the Yankees, but most went for extra bases, including Freeman’s triple and Shohei Ohtani’s double. Ohtani’s double was huge for the Dodgers clawing their way back, as Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly scored Ohtani and tied the game in the eighth inning.

The Dodgers managed to put two consecutive men on base against reliever Jake Cousins ​​before Yankees manager Aaron Boone opted to bring in Nestor Cortes, who had been sidelined since September 18, to face the big three of the Dodgers.

One pitch to Shohei Ohtani was all Cortes needed to give the Yankees just one lead to securing a Game 1 victory. Upstairs, Mookie Betts came to the plate with two men on and two men out.

Remember when the Boston Red Sox intentionally walked Betts in July to load the bases for Freddie Freeman? The Yankees should have remembered how that turned out for Boston.

Freeman, just as he did against Boston reliever Brian Bernardino, saved the game for the Dodgers by hitting a grand slam off a left-handed reliever, this time in walk-off fashion to give the Dodgers their first World Series victory at home since Game 3 of the 2018 World Series.

In the past 50 World Series, there have only been three walk-off home runs in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson was the first to do it in 1988, and last season Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers walked away from the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1.

Now, when his team called on him to be put in the biggest situation of the season, Freeman responded in the grandest of ways.

It’s a huge relief to have Freeman near full strength for the World Series, as if that ankle kept him from nailing his swing, that grand slam would have resulted in the final out of the game. It also leaves Teoscar Hernández, a borderline .200 hitter this postseason, without having to take on duties at the top of the Dodgers order, while the bottom third of the lineup also faces playoff X factors as Tommy Edman can comprehend.

With the Dodgers now three wins away from reaching the ultimate goal, having Freeman at full strength is a huge plus for a team that has been plagued by injuries this postseason. In the 1988 World Series, Gibson’s walk-off home run was the only time he reached the plate. This year, Freeman will have plenty of opportunities to produce the rest of the series.