Cody Snavely
For the first time since 2009, the World Series returns to the Bronx as this series will switch gears to the East Coast for the next three games as the Los Angeles Dodgers look to put the New York Yankees in an insurmountable hole, being already up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
However, recent history would bode well for these New York Yankees as the last time that they were down two games to none in the Fall Classic was in 1996 when they faced off against the Atlanta Braves, winning the next four games en route to their first of five championships in the late 1990s and early 2000s
However, as mentioned in my Dodgers Notes article yesterday, since 1995 (the birth of the League Division Series format), thirteen of fourteen teams that went up 2-0 in the World Series ended up winning it all.
That said, the Dodgers still need to play these games like it is tied 0-0 in order to keep up the momentum, and while the Dodgers did hold on to the win on Saturday night, the Yankees inched closer and could take some positives hitting a dominant closer in Blake Treinen.
For the Dodgers and the baseball world, all eyes will be on Shohei Ohtani after the two-time American League Most Valuable Player Award winner and current National League Favorite was removed from Saturday’s game after injuring his shoulder.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder and an injury similar to what Cody Bellinger sustained in the 2020 National League Championship Series.
Ohtani would stay in Los Angeles that night to get further testing done while his teammates flew to New York, but as of yesterday, it looks like Ohtani is fine and will play in game three tonight.
For the New York Yankees, tonight’s game is a must-win because if the Dodgers go up three games in the series, it may not come back to Los Angeles at all.
On the rubber
Walker Buehler (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
Taking the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third time this October is right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler, who is coming off a gritty performance in game three of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Overall, this postseason, Buehler has been much better than his stat line shows. In two starts, he is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA, but despite allowing six runs (thanks to his shaky defense), he was able to give the Dodgers a much-needed five innings, setting up the bullpen game the next night.
In game three of the National League Championship Series, Buehler pitched four scoreless innings in the crisp fall air in Queens, New York.
This will also be Buehler’s third career World Series start, and so far, the righty has been utterly dominant. In 2018, Buehler tossed seven scoreless innings while only allowing two hits and punching out eight hitters against a 108-win Boston Red Sox team.
In 2020, Buehler pitched six innings, this time allowing one run but collecting ten strikeouts. The Dodgers won 6-2 and went up 2-1 in the series over the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.
While it will be a massive start for Buehler as he tries to put the Dodgers up three games in this series, it will also serve as an audition for the pending free agent who will make the biggest start of his season tonight.
Taking the ball for the New York Yankees in a must-win spot in right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt, who has pitched well this October for the Bronx Bombers.
While Clarke has not picked up a win in each of his two starts, he gave the Yankees 4.2 innings of work and has allowed four runs.
In his postseason career, Clarke is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 11.2 innings but was decent against the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series and Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series.
However, those are not the most offensively driven teams, and they are certainly not the Los Angeles Dodgers, who ranked in the top five in Major League Baseball in OPS, AVG, OBP, and SLG.
Both starting pitchers have never faced the respective teams, and it will be the first start at Yankee Stadium for Buehler, who was excited for the moment to pitch in New York in the cold.
Who to watch?
Not many Dodgers players have seen New York Yankees right-handed starter Clarke Schmidt, and of the few who have, their numbers are not the best.
Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to be in the lineup tonight for game three, is 1-for-3 in his career, with that one hit being a solo home run. Teoscar Hernández is 0-for-3 with one strikeout, and Kiké Hernández, who has seen Clarke the most, is 1-for-7 with three punchouts.
However, with tomorrow being a bullpen game, I am watching Walker Buehler tonight because his performance today will impact the next two games of this series.
The Dodgers will hope to get some length from their starter, more than the four innings he gave them last week in the NLCS, and if he’s sharp and the offense gives him a lead, I would say Dave Roberts is more aggressive with his high-leverage arms in the bullpen to get a win tonight and use the “B” bullpen arms in game four.
However, if Buehler lays an egg like Jack Flaherty did in game five of the NLCS, Roberts could let the starter eat it to preserve as many arms as possible for tomorrow’s bullpen game.
For the Yankees, one player I’m watching is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is hitting 333 in two games during this World Series. In his career, he is 3-for-5 off Buehler with one double and an RBI.
Jazz has looked locked in at the plate and on the base paths this World Series, arguably being the second or third-best player performance-wise in the short two games so far.
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 Dodger Stadium.
Betting Odds
The Yankees are the favorite in this one, at -146, while the underdog Dodgers have +123 odds to play spoiler. New York is favored on the run line (-1.5 with +138 odds). The over/under is 8.5 runs for the contest.
The Yankees are also favored in the win probability at 52% compared to the Dodgers at 48%.
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