Nestor Cortes wasn’t on the mound for the New York Yankees‘ final game of the 2024 World Series, which ended in a narrow 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reflecting on the series, he acknowledged that the Dodgers had taken full advantage of the limited plays the Yankees managed to execute.
In a recent New York Post article, Cortes’ post-Game 5 comments were revealed, in which he openly admitted that the Dodgers’ success to take over the Yanakees came down to their ability to deliver in crucial moments during the series.
“Baseball comes down to execution, right? If you don’t execute and the other team does it better than you, then they’re obviously going to win. And that’s what we ran into in the series, where they execute a lot of plays.” His assessment was echoed by teammate Giancarlo Stanton, who also mentioned missed opportunities by the Yankees throughout the series.
Cortes reminded reporters that he had made a similar observation after the first two games, saying, “It felt like they did everything right.” He praised Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts’ defensive work, particularly noting, “They have Mookie Betts in right field, and every ball off the wall, he kept it to a single. Just stuff like that — it’s like you can’t capitalize on them, and when we made [mistakes], they capitalized. So that’s massive.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 25: Nestor Cortes #65 of the New York Yankees leaves the field after giving up a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the tenth inning during Game One of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Nestor Cortes vs. the Dodgers
Cortes faced the Dodgers twice during the 2024 World Series, with his Game 1 performance most remembered. Needing just a couple of outs to secure a Yankees victory, he instead gave up the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to Freddie Freeman — a costly play that drew significant backlash.
IT'S GONE IT'S GONE IT'S GONE IT'S GONE FREDDIE FREEMAN #WALKOFF GRAND SLAM
The Yankees’ Fifth Inning Collapse
The Yankees’ meltdown in the fifth inning of Game 5 drew heavy criticism. Mistakes by Gerrit Cole at first base, which he attributed to a “bad angle” on the ball, and Aaron Judge’s error in center field, were seen as the turning points that erased a 5-0 Yankees lead.
