Tim Hill’s dominance of Dodgers in Game 2 puts spotlight back on Yankees’ controversial bullpen call in World Series opener

Tim Hill has been a great left-handed arm out of the Yankees bullpen this season and proved it again Saturday night in Game 2 of the World Series. With one out and a man on first, Hill’s first batter was Freeman. The southpaw got Freeman — who took starter Carlos Rodon deep earlier — to pop out on two pitches. Hill retired all four batters he faced on Saturday night.

So it was odd when manager Aaron Boone chose to use starter Nestor Cortes to pitch to the heart of the Dodgers order in Game 1 instead of him.

Of course, we all know how that ended — Cortes allowing a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman — but that decision from Boone looked worse a day later. With the Yankees down 4-1 and asking the bullpen to keep the score close, Boone called on Hill to get out of the fifth inning. 

Now, it’s difficult to compare Hill’s performance in Game 2 in a low-leverage situation to how he would have done in Game 1 but it nonetheless makes you think of what could have been. Boone said after the loss in Game 1 that he liked the matchup between Cortes and Shohei Ohtani, and the other batters.

“I knew with one out there, it would be tough to double up Shohei if Tim Hill gets him on the ground and then Mookie behind him is a tough matchup there,” Boone said. “So, felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.”

In his Game 2 pregame availability, Boone said he would “double down” on his decisions — aside from one — and that includes choosing Cortes over Hill in that 10th inning. 

We’ll never know if Hill was on the mound in Game 1 if the result would be different but now that the Yankees are down 0-2 in the World Series, it’s hard not to second-guess that decision even more.