It’s the final showdown of the Major League Baseball season, and as the leaves change color, the World Series this year is turning familiar shades of Dodger Blue and Yankee pinstripes. For the 12th time — with their first meeting having occurred in 1941 — the Yankees and Dodgers face off in the World Series.
Their most recent World Series meeting in 1981 will carry a particularly special significance this year, with Friday’s Game 1 coming just days after the death of Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, who was the rookie star of that 1981 championship team at the height of “Fernandomania.”
As much as the tale of the tape in this series could be about the names and logos on the front of the uniforms, this year’s matchup is about the first-timers in this storied baseball rivalry. Shohei Ohtani is in the World Series for the first time in his first season with the Dodgers, and Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are also making their first appearances with the Yankees.
Both clubs have been off for nearly a week, so the pitching staffs are lined up for the two teams that finished with the best records in their respective leagues in the regular season. In Game 1, Gerrit Cole (1-0, 3.31 ERA, 16.1 IP, 12 K, 6 BB in 2024 postseason) takes the ball for the Yankees against Jack Flaherty (1-2, 7.04 ERA, 15.1 IP, 8 K, 7 BB) for the Dodgers.
Gerrit Cole mows through the 5-6-7 of the Dodgers lineup in the bottom of the second. Unlike Flaherty, he’s at 23 pitches through two scoreless innings.
Smooth sailing for Flaherty through 2 IP
Jack Flaherty has made it through the first two innings of World Series Game 1 unscathed. Considering that the Dodger starter got obliterated for eight runs in his last start, that’s a big deal.
Flaherty’s fastball averaged 91 mph that day against the Mets. So far tonight, the heater is sitting 94.2. How long Flaherty can hold that velocity into this outing is something to keep an eye on.
Behold the emotional journey of a man running on an ankle that some worried would make him miss games in the World Series.
Flaherty works around the leadoff single, and jumps over another comebacker at his feet from Alex Verdugo, to post a scoreless second.
Flaherty’s at 40 pitches through two. The Yankees haven’t gotten much hard contact off him, but they’re also working the count enough to keep this start shot.
A comebacker from Anthony Rizzo hits Jack Flaherty on the foot, and that’s a painful first baserunner in the second inning.
Freeman gets first extra-base hit of October
Freddie Freeman’s ankle looked better than it has all postseason as he took advantage of Alex Verdugo’s early miscue to reach third base in the first. A fully operational Freeman would be huge for the Dodgers.
Definitely will be interesting to see how Freddie Freeman’s ankle holds up after that jaunt around the bases.
Teoscar Hernandez hits a 91.7 mph line drive … straight to Anthony Volpe at short to end the inning. No runs for the Dodgers, despite some decent contact in the first inning.
Freddie Freeman, returning to the lineup after dealing with a bad ankle all postseason, gets the first hit of the game and makes it to third! Alex Verdugo missed the bounce off the wall and gave the veteran plenty of time to run.
It is generously scored a triple.
And then a flyout to the warning track to left field from Mookie Betts (caught by Alex Verdugo, who was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Betts in 2020).
The good news for the Yankees: two outs. The bad news: Dodgers hitters are already hitting it pretty deep off their ace.
Hoo boy. Gerrit Cole throws a first-pitch fastball for a strike, and Shohei Ohtani connects. It dies at the warning track. A few more feet, and that would have been quite a moment. Instead, it’s the first out of the inning.
Flaherty gets out of the inning two pitches later with a groundout to second by Chisholm. As every Fox broadcast this postseason would say, here comes Shohei Ohtani.
Flaherty gets what should have been an inning-ending grounder from Giancarlo Stanton, but NLCS MVP Tommy Edman misplays it at short. Yankees get runners on first and second with two outs and Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the plate.
Flaherty walks Juan Soto but wins his first encounter with Aaron Judge with a four-pitch strikeout. He’s looking a lot better than he did last week.
A very notable early sign for Jack Flaherty: That first pitch was 96.4 mph. That’s his fastest pitch as a Dodger. Considering how much he got knocked around in Game 5 of the NLCS, the Dodgers will be happy about that.
Jack Flaherty throws a first-pitch 96 mph fastball for a ball, and we’re off at the 2024 World Series.
Brad Paisley, a big Dodgers fan, performs the national anthem with electric guitar and flyover, and we’re close to getting started at Dodger Stadium.
Tina Stanley is a news writer for Barnard Griffin News. She loves to write about arts, entertainment, lifestyle, and home news. She has a passion for writing about things that make people happy.
