World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Yankees – Game 5 / Al Bello/GettyImages
Did you think Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo’s tag-team bases loaded brain fart couldn’t possibly feel worse? Did you think that you could avoid thinking about their Wonder Twin powers activating to manifest garbage for the rest of your life? Think again.
Because not only was the Cole-Rizzo convergence an example of botched Day 1 PFP on the biggest stage, but the grounder actually had a clone earlier in the game.
Yes, the spin was different. Yes, Rizzo ended up further from the bag. Yes, it would’ve been tougher for him to nab Betts on a dead sprint in the fifth the way he had in the first.
But it turns out the Yankees recorded the game’s forgotten second out on a similar Betts cue shot towards the first base bag. Cole raced over unnecessarily that time around, even hitting Rizzo with his soon-to-be familiar and ironic point. Watch it here. If you dare.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rizzo turned Mookie Betts groundout perfectly in first inning of World Series Game 5
Add in John Smoltz’s commentary about how Cole needs to work hard to stay locked in and make sure nothing affects his ability to “float,” and you certainly have a 10-second Doom Clip on your hands.
After the game, Aaron Boone told the media that he felt the Yankees were actually well equipped on PFP, but that the particular play did not work out. When he offered that pathetic blanket that mollified absolutely nobody, maybe he was thinking about the well-executed grounder in the first inning instead of the hackjob that ended the Yankees’ season. Gold star.
Nobody wanted things to go down like this, but Yankee fans who sat through all 162 and October knew this team was teetering on the edge of a knife. Don’t forget that Game 1 was also partially given away by defense; Juan Soto’s carom turned a double into a triple, as did Gleyber Torres’ ole on a throw into the infield. Both runners eventually scored on sacrifice flies that never should’ve occurred, knotting the game heading to extras.
As it stands, the Yankees won the AL Central Invitational yet again before falling to the big boys. If only they could’ve copied and pasted the first inning of Game 5 instead of regressing to the mean.
