Yankees vs. Dodgers, 8:08 ET

Yankees vs. Dodgers, 8:08 ET

The World Series is here! After 162 games for each team, somewhere around six full months of baseball plays each day, and we’ve reached the championship. This isn’t just any championship. There are a ton of stories here and a lot of reasons to look forward to this series. I do think it will be a longer series, but I’m looking for a play on every game here as the Yankees take on the Dodgers in Los Angeles. 

How did the Yankees get here? A lot of it was on the strength of their bats. They were the best team in the American League with the #1 seed, and started their run against the Kansas City Royals. It wasn’t exactly a tough series for the Yankees, but it was competitive enough with the Royals at least putting up a fight in most games. Against the Guardians, the Yankees jumped out to a lead in the series with wins during the first two games. The Yankees then lost in extra innings to the Guardians after giving up two-run homers in two straight innings. It was at this point that I thought the Yankees might be in trouble. They ended the game series with two straight wins, including an extra-inning win of their own to send them to the World Series. Most importantly, the team did all of this without Aaron Judge doing much of anything in the playoffs. They send out Gerrit Cole to the hill tonight for Game 1. Cole has made three starts in the playoffs, covering 16.1 innings and allowing just six earned runs. The Yankees have won all three games, but Cole hasn’t looked all that sharp outside of one of the games against the Royals. When he faced the Guardians, he went just 4.1 innings and allowed two earned runs. That’s not a bad start, but I am a bit concerned that he had four walks and six hits allowed as well. Dodgers hitters have seen a lot of Cole in the past, but collectively haven’t been great with just a .226 batting average against him. Mookie Betts is the best with Freddie Freeman and Enrique Hernandez followed closely behind. Each of them have at least seven hits in 21 or fewer at-bats.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Jack Flaherty #0 of the Los Angeles Dodgers meets with players in the dugout after being taken out of the game during the eighth inning in game one of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Dodgers also had a unique way of getting back to the World Series. Though their drought for both titles and pennants is not as long as the Yankees, they are still looking to capture this win and close out their first season with Shohei Ohtani on a strong note. Los Angeles is essentially trying to buy a title with all of the money they have spent, but I also don’t blame them. I wish more teams were willing to open the checkbook and capture all of the talent they can. So, after the big offseason signings, they ended the season as the best team in baseball once again. They had to beat the Padres, but it took them five games. In the next series they faced the Mets, a team that looked to have destiny and all the luck in the world on their side. They took the Mets down in six games and handled business. Now they turn to the guy who had been the most reliable for the Dodgers, Jack Flaherty. The issue is that Flaherty is not pitching very well in the playoffs. He’s allowed 12 earned runs in three games. He allowed eight in his last start, three innings against the Mets in New York. I have to believe he is anxiously awaiting to avenge that performance. To be fair to him, he did have seven scoreless innings against them as well, allowing just two hits in that game. He didn’t face the Yankees this season, and outside of Anthony Rizzo, no one really has much experience against him. 

I think this game should be a bit of a pitcher’s duel, but the way both offenses have looked it is hard for me to back the under. I do think that after a week off, the timing for both teams’ hitters will take a while to readjust. Either way, I lean toward the under. For the game, I am going to take the Yankees, they have the better starter and that could make the difference in this game. Back the Yankees at +110. 

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