Cody Snavely
Déjà vu: For the second time in as many days, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one measly win from their first World Series championship since the 2020 season and their first in a full season since 1988. But after a potential momentum-swinging win, the Dodgers will face New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole as they hope to live to fight another day.
The Dodgers, out of necessity, opted for yet another bullpen game this series, and for their part, this method has worked almost all postseason, winning game four of the National League Division Series and game six of the National League Championship Series.
The lone two blips were in game two of the NLCS and yesterday’s lopsided 11-4 loss, but one massive takeaway was they did not use any high-leverage arms, so Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has Jack Flaherty on four-day rest and their entire bullpen minus the arms that pitched last night at his disposal.
History is also on the Dodgers’ side in this one, as no team in Major League Baseball history has ever forced a game six after being down 0-3 in the series, and the Dodgers hope to continue that trend. Still, it will be a challenging task for the Dodgers’ offense after struggling most of the series despite getting three straight wins.
The more significant issue other than last night’s bullpen implosion is the offense really has shown up this series, aside from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is responsible for half of the Dodgers’ runs in the Fall Classic.
Everyone not named Freddie Freeman is hitting a combined .196 this series, and despite only scoring four runs, the Dodgers have numerous opportunities to cash in and force Dave Roberts’s hand to bring in the artillery out of the bullpen but went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.
That is also the root of their inconsistent offense as they have deterred away from the approach that got them to the World Series, going a combined 4-for-26 with runners in scoring position, scoring a majority of their runs with the long ball.
However, today is a new day, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, like yesterday, are just one win away from history but will have to battle the 2023 American League Cy Young winner in Gerrit Cole to get it done with a fully rested bullpen and an offense that is due for an offensive explosion.
On the rubber
Jack Flaherty (1-2, 6.10 ERA) vs Gerrit Cole (1-0, 2.82 ERA)
It is a rematch of game one of this series, as the Dodgers will send right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty to the mound. However, this time, instead of looking to go up 1-0 in the series, they’ll be going for glory and trying to end this Fall Classic.
The biggest question for the Dodgers is what version of Jack Flaherty will the team get today? After looking great in game one of the National League Championship Series, getting more than five days of rest in between his last start in game two of the National League Division Series, Jack tossed seven scoreless innings en route to a Dodgers 9-0 win.
However, when Jack was given the call in Citi Field in a similar situation as tonight, he failed, allowing eight runs in three innings of work to the New York Mets, who were able to force a game six back at Dodger Stadium.
Flaherty has had a few starts since the Dodgers acquired him in which the quality of his pitches diminished, and his velocity took a dip, leading to a horrendous start; it’s not just an issue that has happened in the postseason.
Flaherty was sharp in game one of the World Series, only allowing two runs off a Giancarlo Stanton two-run home run and striking out six Yankees hitters in 5.1 innings. However, that start was with more than four days of rest.
If Flaherty struggles out of the gate with velocity and command, it will be tough for the Dodgers to overcome, especially when runs will likely be at a premium with the Yankees ace on the mound.
Taking the ball for the New York Yankees looking to force a game six at Dodger Stadium is right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole, who looked terrific in game one, only allowing one run on a sacrifice fly in six innings of work.
It was a controversial move in hindsight where Yankees manager Aaron Boone took Cole out of his start with only eighty-eight pitches as the Yankees bullpen blew the lead, and the game capped off by a Freddie Freeman walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning.
This time around, with the Yankees backs against the wall, with one more loss being the end of their season, I would say it’s a safe bet that if Cole is dealing, the skipper will let him shove for more than ninety pitches.
Despite only allowing four hits in game one, the Dodgers saw Cole very well hitting the ball hard on more than one occasion and, as a team, only struck out four times.
However, the Dodgers offense is in a funk, as in yesterday’s loss, they struck out eight times the most during this series so far.
One thing that may be on the Dodgers’ side tonight is that Gerrit Cole has struggled at home this season, posting a 4.31 ERA in forty-eight innings. And despite the Yankees dropping eleven runs last night, they did not face a single high-leverage arm by design, as the Dodgers, like in the NLCS, held them for tonight’s game.
The message for the Dodgers is clear: you have three chances to win one game, while the New York Yankees have to be perfect, and that is a lot of pressure even for a historic franchise to overcome.
Who to watch?
The easy answer for the Dodgers in this World Series would be Freddie Freeman, who is the player to watch as the lefty first baseman has hit four home runs in the first four games of this series.
However, I’ll go with Shohei Ohtani. Since his shoulder injury, he has looked lost at the plate, and for the Dodgers to win this series and this game, they’ll need a good performance from their best player.
The same can be shared for the Yankees. If they want to force game six and game seven, they’ll need Aaron Judge to wake up, and yesterday was a step in the right direction, as the center fielder went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI single.
Where to watch
The World Series will be exclusively broadcast on Fox Sports One (FS1) or Fox.
Dodgers play-by-play broadcast announcer Joe Davis will join Atlanta Braves legend John Smoltz on the call as the primetime Fox baseball crew will broadcast this series.
First pitch for game five is set for 5:08 PM PT at Yankee Stadium.
Betting Odds
The favored Yankees have -146 moneyline odds to win against the underdog Dodgers, who are listed at +124. New York is the run-line favorite (-1.5). The total is 8 runs for this game (with -114 odds on the over and -106 odds to go under).
The Yankees are also favored in the win probability at 52% compared to the Dodgers at 48%.
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