After watching Shohei Ohtani fly out to left field and Mookie Betts get intentionally walked to load the bases in the bottom of the tenth, Freddie Freeman approached the plate with the hopes of the Dodgers and the entire city of Los Angeles on his back.

Struggling mightily through the playoffs due to his injuries, the Yankees clearly felt better about throwing to Freeman than to Betts, but in hindsight, that was clearly a mistake, as on the very first pitch thrown his way, the former MVP smashed the ball into the stands for a walk-off grand slam, clobbering it so definitively that he didn't even let go of his bat.

Goodness, what an absolute statement moment.

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Now, when Ohtani went up to bat, it looked like a moment right out of something produced down the street in Hollywood. The Dodgers were down 3-2, two men were on base, and the best player in baseball had a chance to cap off his MVP season with an all-ring great World Series moment.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but recall, if you will, that the Dodgers don't have only one MVP, and after Betts walked to first, Freeman had a chance to prove once and for all that his slump was over, and he could still contribute to this team at a high level.

Mission accomplished.

With fans, pundits, and even Dave Roberts wondering if Freeman would be better served as an emergency option off the bench, as his ankle injury isn't expected to get better in the next few weeks, Freeman started the game and contributed early on, hitting a triple early on in one of the few base hits the Dodgers recorded in regulation. But with that grand slam, Freeman left no question about it: he is still a force for the Dodgers and the sort of player worthy of leading LA into Game 2 of the series.