Cortes: Yankees 'were the better team' vs. Dodgers in World Series

Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Nestor Cortes believes his former team, the New York Yankees, could've defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series.

"We had done enough to win that game," Cortes said about the Fall Classic opener in which the pitcher surrendered a historic walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman after the Yankees took the lead in extra innings, according to Tyler Kepner of The Athletic.

"They can talk whatever they want to talk, but we win Game 1 - which we should have - we lost (Game) 2 and (Game) 3, we win Game 4, and we should have won Game 5. Then we go back to L.A. up 3-2 (in the series)."

Los Angeles won the World Series in five games after New York blew a five-run lead in Game 5 due to multiple defensive errors. Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor said in November that the Yankees "kind of shit down their leg," while reliever Joe Kelly called the series a "mismatch."

"People can say it slipped away from us, people can say we made a lot of mistakes, which we did," Cortes added. "But at the end of the day, we were the better team. I see it that way, and I'm sure everybody in that clubhouse sees it that way.

"The reality (could have been) going back to L.A. leading 3-2. It didn't happen that way, and they deserve all the credit in the world; they won the World Series. At the moment, they showed they were the better team."

Cortes was subsequently traded to the Brewers in December in a deal that saw All-Star closer Devin Williams head to the Yankees.