The Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Yankees World Series is the biggest clash of baseball’s titans since the last time the two teams met in the World Series (in 1981, as hard as it is to believe) as well as a matchup of the 2014 World Series. There is a clearly defined favorite in the Dodgers, who are -122 favorites at FanDuel and +420 bets to win the Fall Classic in six games.
The Dodgers led the majors with 98 wins this season and showcased their immense depth during a six-game victory over the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.
Los Angeles scored 46 runs against the Mets – the most runs ever scored by a National League team in a postseason series. But while Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts were their usual ethereal personalities, the NLCS MVP was 5-foot-10 utilityman Tommy Edman, who had 11 RBIs – nine fewer than in the regular season – and helped the Dodgers win both games they played. Helped in. Without wobbler Freddie Freeman, who batted .167 while battling a right ankle sprain.
The Dodgers are also so deep in the bullpen that manager Dave Roberts was able to take disproportionate losses in Games 2 and 5 so that high-leverage relievers combined with duct tape and paper clips were available to pitch in the back of the rotation as often as possible. ,
And because of that wafer-thin rotation the Yankees, with a very deep cadre of starting pitchers, could win this World Series — especially if Battle-tested ace Gerrit Cole was victorious in Friday’s Game 1,
Since 2013, only Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander have pitched more innings in the playoffs than Cole, who has a 2.98 ERA in 120 2/3 frames. Cole has not been the Hall of Fame version of himself since returning from a right elbow injury that cost him the first three and a half months of the season.
But his 3.40 ERA in 111 1/3 innings (counting playoffs) gives him a better record of recent reliability than the Dodgers’ trio of Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, none of whom batted over .90 for the club. Did not play many innings. (Flaherty finished in 162 innings between Los Angeles and the Detroit Tigers).
Cole’s strong outing will increase the pressure on the Dodgers’ trio of starters and reduce the margin for error by Roberts navigating his bullpen.
Flaherty, Los Angeles’ likely Game 1 starter, has a 4.91 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in the postseason, including a 7.04 ERA in three starts this month. He Tossed a gem against the Mets in the NLCS opener.But his seven scoreless innings included eight outs on fastballs over 95 mph. Yamamoto and Buehler, who were limited to 165 1/3 regular season innings due to shoulder and elbow problems, have posted a 5.48 ERA with an average of 4 1/3 innings in five October starts.
With a strong performance on Friday, Cole could ease the pressure on the rest of the Yankees’ less-proven postseason starters – Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt and Luis Gil – as well as their bullpen, which posted a 2.56 ERA in the ALDS and ALCS.
Rodon, the projected Game 2 starter, has been much better at home (3.98 ERA in 124 1/3 innings) than on the road (5.36 ERA in 129 1/3 innings) in two seasons with the Yankees. But taking a 1-0 lead in the series will make it more likely that New York will get a calmer version of the hot-and-cold Rodon, who has a postseason ERA of 5.82 and admitted that in Game 2 of the AL Division One Was very emotional. Series against the Kansas City Royals, when he gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 4–2 loss.
Schmidt and Gill, who are in line to start Games 3 and 4 at Yankee Stadium, have a 4.05 ERA while failing to get out of the fifth inning in three postseason starts. A strong start by Cole in Game 1 and his potential presence in Game 5 if the latter is necessary means manager Aaron Boone can rely heavily on the bullpen in the Bronx – and the Yankees may eventually win their first championship since 2009. Can significantly improve your chances of winning.