Freddie Freeman Took Mookie Betts Intentional Walk Personally, Says Dodgers’ Dave Roberts
With two outs and two runners on base, the New York Yankees chose to intentionally walk Mookie Betts in the bottom of the 10th inning and instead pitch to Freddie Freeman. The Yankees got Shohei Ohtani out to secure their second out of the inning, and bring them within one out of a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the World Series.
The Yankees did not want to risk Betts winning the game, so they walked him. With the bases loaded, Freeman came up to the plate and made the Yankees pay for their decision by hitting the now iconic grand slam to win Game 1.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes Freeman took the Yankees walking Betts to face him personally.
“I think he did, and I think he should,” Roberts said after the game. “It’s still obviously a decision that Aaron [Boone] felt good about, but any player — I’ve walked guys, and it’s worked out. I walk them, and it doesn’t work out. They should take it personal. They’re competitors, and that’s the way it should be.”
On multiple occasions this season, the Dodgers have seen teams walk Ohtani to face Betts instead. Betts capitalized on those decisions. This time, the Yankees walked Betts, and it was Freeman who capitalized.
“We’ve been seeing it all year,” Freeman said after the game. “They’ve been walking Shohei to get to Mookie, Mookie to get to me. That’s kind of — that’s what I said earlier. I don’t — that’s what’s so good about our lineup. It’s a tough matchup no matter where you are, trying to pitch — it’s left-on-left.
“I understand. Right when they awarded him second and third, I knew I was going to be coming up in that moment. But right when I saw the 4, I went over what I was going to be looking for and tried to be simple and see it and hit it. Luckily, I did.”
The Yankees were largely in a lose-lose situation, as many teams have been this season when going up against the top of the Dodgers lineup late in games. The Dodgers have three MVPs at the top of their lineup, with all three players easily capable of coming through to win the game. On Friday night, it was Freeman’s turn.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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