The Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Yankees World Series is baseball’s biggest rivalry since the two teams met in the World Series (back in 1981, it’s hard to believe that) and the matchup is a clearly defined favorite for the Dodgers, who are a -122 favorite. on FanDuel and a +420 bet to win the Fall Classic in six games.
The Dodgers led the majors with 98 wins this season and showed off their great depth during a six-game sweep of the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.
Los Angeles scored 46 runs – the most by a National League team in a postseason series – against the Mets. But while Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts were their superhuman selves, the NLCS MVP was 5-foot-10 utility Tommy Edman, who had 11 RBIs — nine fewer than he had in the regular season — and helped The Dodgers won both games they played. except for catcher Freddie Freeman, who hit .167 while battling a sprained right ankle.
The Dodgers are also so deep in the bullpen that manager Dave Roberts was able to forfeit games 2 and 5 so that the top relievers were available to pitch as often as possible after a rotation made up of duct tape and paper clips. .
And that wafer-thin turnaround is why the Yankees, who have a deep group of starting pitchers, can win this World Series — especially if battle-tested ace Gerrit Cole prevails in Friday’s Game 1.
Only Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander have thrown more innings in the playoffs since 2013 than Cole, who has a 2.98 ERA in 120 2/3 frames. Cole hasn’t been his Hall of Fame version 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 over 111 1/3 innings (counting the playoffs) gives him a better record of recent reliability than the Dodger team of Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, none of whom threw more than one inning. of 90 in the club. (Flaherty finished in 162 innings between Los Angeles and the Detroit Tigers).
Cole’s strong outing could increase the pressure on the Dodgers’ starting three and reduce the margin for error Roberts has by going through his bullpen.
Flaherty, Los Angeles’ likely starter in Game 1, has a 4.91 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in the postseason, including a 7.04 ERA in three starts this month. He threw a gem against the Mets in the NLCS opener, but his seven scoreless innings included eight strikeouts on balls hit harder than 95 mph. Yamamoto and Buehler, who were limited to 165 1/3 regular season innings by shoulder and elbow issues, posted a 5.48 ERA while averaging 4 1/3 starts through five Octobers.
With Friday’s strong performance, Cole could also ease the pressure on the rest of the Yankees’ less-proven lineup — Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil — and their bullpen, which has 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 the mound with a 1-0 series lead will make it easier for New York to find a cooler version of the hot-and-cold Rodon, who has a 5.82 postseason ERA and admitted he was hit hard in Game 2 of the AL Division. Series against the Kansas City Royals, when he gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 4-2 loss.
Schmidt and Gil, who are slated to start Games 3 and 4 at Yankee Stadium, have a 4.05 ERA while failing to get out of the fifth inning in their first three postseason starts. Cole’s strong start in Game 1 and his presence in Game 5 if the latter is needed means manager Aaron Boone can rely heavily on the bullpen in the Bronx — and greatly improve the Yankees’ chances of winning their first championship since in 2009.