Yankees’ Aaron Boone clarified his choice to bring in Nestor Cortes during Game 1 against the Dodgers.

The New York Yankees faced a tough loss in Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who triumphed with a walk-off grand slam by star first baseman Freddie Freeman—the first of its kind in World Series history—in the bottom of the 10th inning. Throughout the exciting matchup, a major point of discussion was Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s decision to bring in left-hander Nestor Cortes. Cortes hadn’t pitched in 37 days due to a left flexor strain in his elbow, and his appearance came at a critical time against the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup.

“I liked the matchup,” Boone explained. “The reality is he’s been pitching really well in recent weeks as he prepared for this. With one out, I knew it would be challenging to get a double play on Shohei if Tim Hill managed to get him on the ground, especially with Mookie coming up next—that’s a tough situation.”

With Cortes and fellow lefty Tim Hill, who had allowed just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings this postseason, warming up in the bullpen, Boone opted for Cortes with one out and two runners on in the bottom of the 10th against Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani. Boone noted that Cortes’s previous performance against Ohtani, who was 2-for-12 against him historically, influenced his decision. “A little bit,” Boone said. “I don’t know if you ever feel great about a matchup against Ohtani, but I thought Nestor could give us a chance.”

Cortes certainly delivered in that situation. He got Ohtani to pop up on the first pitch into foul territory, where Alex Verdugo made a fantastic catch, tumbling into the stands. With Mookie Betts up to bat and first base open, the Yankees chose to intentionally walk Betts to face Freeman instead. Boone mentioned he preferred the “left-on-left matchup.” When asked about the intentional walk, Betts responded with “yes and no,” noting that it “made sense in the flow of the game.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts added that Freeman seemed to take the intentional walk personally. Cortes threw Freeman a fastball in the strike zone on the first pitch, and Freeman launched it into right field for a walk-off grand slam.

Cortes, who had recently acknowledged the risk of further elbow injury from pitching in the World Series, explained that he was aiming for a high and inside pitch to Freeman. “Maybe just two or three inches higher,” he said. “I thought I got it to the inside part of the plate, but it just didn’t rise enough.” These postseason games often hinge on the smallest details. The Yankees, who left 11 runners stranded and made several fielding errors, will need to improve if they want to tie the series on Saturday night.