It’s been 15 long years since we could say this: The Yankees open up the World Series tonight. Not a single member of this writing staff was here the last time the Yankees were in the Fall Classic. By my count there are just seven active players who were even at the MLB level when New York won their 28th title. After such a drought, of course we’d see them taking on the once-crosstown rival Dodgers.
Jack Flaherty has the ball for LA, after the Yankees gave up on pursuing him at the trade deadline. Concern about his back had Brian Cashman eventually looking elsewhere while the Dodgers rolled the dice on the righthander. He made ten starts down the stretch in blue, with a 3.58 ERA, but his postseason could be going better. He had one sterling start against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS, but we last saw him yanked after three innings, allowing eight runs in Game 5. I would certainly not complain about a similar outcome tonight.
Meanwhile, this is why you sign Gerrit Cole. Four years into his tenure, the ace is finally making a start in the World Series. He’s made two appearances in the Fall Classic before, part of that 2019 Astros team, and has given up six runs across 14 innings. The good news is there’s no Juan Soto to take him deep this time — the birthday boy is batting in his usual second slot for the Yankees.
The rest of the lineup looks familiar, with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton batting 3-4 once again. The Dodgers of course have their big three hitting together at the top of their lineup. There isn’t much else to be said — 162 games of grueling regular season, 15 years of drought, more than a century of rivalry, it’s all built to this. Game 1 of the World Series is tonight.
How to watch
Location: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles, CA
First pitch: 8:08 pm ET
TV broadcast: FOX
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1380 (NYY), Dodgers Radio 570, KTNQ1020 (LAD), ESPN Radio (National broadcast)
Online stream: MLB.tv (international only, not in Canada)
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