The Yankees hoped to make history in the World Series, but instead they asked themselves, “What if?”

Gerrit Cole was dominant in Game 5 on Wednesday. The ace struck out six Los Angeles Dodgers batters in 6 2/3 innings, but a costly error in the fifth inning was the story of the night for New York.

Cole forced a groundout to first with the bases loaded and two outs. Anthony Rizzo secured the ball but had no one to throw it to. Mookie Betts was safe and delivered a run to cut the deficit to 5-1. The error was part of a litany of defensive errors in the fifth inning that allowed Los Angeles to tie the game and ultimately close out Game 5 and win the World Series.

It’s hard to imagine that the Yankees would have won Game 5 and sent the series back to Dodger Stadium if Cole had covered first. Instead, the 34-year-old was left at Yankee Stadium and had to answer for his mistake.

“I took a bad angle to the ball. I wasn’t sure right away how hard he hit,” Cole told reporters, according to SNY. “I took a direct angle at it like I was going to cut it off because I just didn’t know how hard it hit him. As the ball passed me, I was unable to cover first. None of us were based on the spin of the baseball and the need to secure it. Just a bad read from the start.”

Fans probably won’t believe the 2023 Cy Young winner’s excuses. To be fair to Cole, the Yankees retook the lead in the sixth inning before quieting their bats in the final two innings. There’s also no guarantee that New York would have continued to win had the series continued.

However, it could be a costly mistake that will haunt the Yankees for years to come.