Freddie Freeman wins Game 1 with the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history

LOS ANGELES – It might be the most famous climax in World Series history. And it just played on repeat.

Thirty-six years after the slight Kirk Gibson hobbled to the plate to hit a walk-off home run in Game 1, Freddie Freeman arrived with a badly injured right ankle, the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th and a chance to close out October summon to strike his own magic. With a single swing, Freeman sent the ball beyond doubt into the right-field pavilion seats for the World Series' first-ever walk-off grand slam, giving the Dodgers an epic 6-3 win in a Game 1 thriller at Dodgers on Friday night gifted stadium.

Living up to the hype of a work week is no easy task. But the Dodgers and Yankees — the No. 1 team in the National League and American League, meeting in the Fall Classic for the first time in 43 years — played a Game 1 that was well worth it. And in the end, the Dodgers put on a magical opening act that left Freeman giving Gibby goosebumps.

In the best-of-seven postseason series, teams that won Game 1 won the series 125 of 191 times (65%). That includes 23 of 29 times (79%) in the World Series since 1995. In all series in the current 2-3-2 format, teams that won Game 1 at home won the series 68 of 101 times (67%). ).