The collision of the Yankees and Dodgers in the World Series was supposed to provide a thrilling best-of-seven finale to the MLB season, and that’s exactly what happened in Game 1 with Freddie Freeman’s grand slam.

This hype – combined with the audience potential offered by New York and Los Angeles – also translated into Fox’s television ratings.

The first match attracted 15.2 million viewers Friday evening — peaking at 17.8 million viewers from 11:30 p.m. — during the Dodgers win 6-3making it the most-watched World Series opener since the 2017 showdown between Los Angeles and the Astros and reflecting a 62 percent increase in Game 1 viewership compared to the Fall Classic of the last year between the Diamondbacks and Rangers, depending on the network.

The Yankees-Dodgers crowd was also treated to a thrilling finish to Game 1.

After the Yankees took a one-run lead in the 10th inning, Jake Cousins ​​walked Gavin Lux before Tommy Edman reached on an infield single, prompting Yankees manager Aaron Boone to to insert Nestor Cortes – a starter who hasn’t pitched in a game since September. , 18 while recovering from a strained left elbow flexor – to face left-handed hitter Shohei Ohtani.

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Cortes retired Ohtani, thanks to a catch from Alex Verdugo, but after Boone chose to intentionally walk Mookie Betts, Freeman connected on Cortes’ next pitch and sent it 409 feet over the right field fence to secure the victory.

That led to an iconic call from Fox play-by-play broadcaster Joe Daviswhich references longtime Dodgers voice Vin Scully and his call of Kirk Gibson’s iconic home run during the 1988 World Series with a “she’s gone” line as the ball went over the wall – before adding “Gibby, meet Freddie” as Freeman approached first base.

This isn’t the first case of strong viewership in the postseason, as the Mets and Brewers are showing. set an ESPN viewership record for Game 3 of their NL Wild Card Series — when Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to save the Mets’ playoff run — averaging 4.017 million viewers and a high of 5.745 million.

MLB also saw a league-wide ratings surge through the first three rounds during the postseason. according to Forbes.

The Dodgers will look to take a 2-0 advantage in the Fall Classic when Yoshinobu Yamamoto – the Japanese ace in his first MLB season who allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out 10 catches in his last two playoff starts – will try to get by. -duel Carlos Rodon, who was also strong for the Yankees in his second and third postseason starts.