The Game 5 pitching plan, in short: The big dogs are back.
It’s Gerrit Cole vs. Jack Flaherty, the World Series Game 1 starters, back for a second round in Game 5. The Yankees did what they needed to do Tuesday night, beating the Dodgers in a bullpen game to give Cole — the Californian now pitching for his childhood favorite team — another chance to take the ball in this World Series. Now he’s got to make it count. Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, has a 2.82 ERA in four starts this postseason.
Behind him, the Yankees bullpen has been taxed heavily over the past three games, as neither Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt nor Luis Gil went longer than four innings. Reliever Clay Holmes has pitched in every game this series; Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, Jake Cousins and Mark Leiter Jr. have appeared in three of four games. A long start from Cole would be a relief, but manager Aaron Boone won’t have the cushion to give anyone, even his ace, a long leash.
Flaherty, another Californian now pitching for his childhood favorite team, pitched well in Game 1, throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. However, his overall numbers in these playoffs — a 6.10 ERA in four starts — are soured by a blowup start against the Mets in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Dodgers acquired the rental right-hander at the trade deadline to be their guy in big games this fall, so this is just the right spot for him — starting opposite Cole with a chance to close out the World Series.
Because Tuesday’s bullpen game went sideways so early, with Daniel Hudson serving up a grand slam in the third inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was able to give the rest of his “A” bullpen the night off. That’s a luxury the Yankees have not had. The Dodgers will have the more rested bullpen in Game 5.
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