The time has come. Game 1 of the highly anticipated 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees is officially here. The matchup is slated to see Gerrit Cole start for the Yankees. Cole grew up in Orange County and played at nearby UCLA.
The Dodgers will be rolling with Jack Flaherty — another local kid who prepped at Harvard-Westlake High School in a suburb of Los Angeles. Adding to the California theme, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone all hail from the Golden State.
With this being a homecoming of sorts for the heavy hitters in New York’s lineup, there’s a strong possibility we will see some production from the aforementioned sluggers. We predict that BOTH Stanton and Judge will homer in this contest.
Flaherty has pitched well at Dodger Stadium during the playoffs. We’ll see if the fastball will have its usual life. If it’s down like it’s been recently, that could be an issue considering the Yankees don’t chase at all — and Flaherty lives for the awkward swings on his sweeper and knuckle curve combination.
Coincidentally, the Dodgers have a handful of guys who mash against Cole — namely Mookie Betts and Enrique Hernandez. We can see LA getting to Cole a bit. He won’t be dominant or flawless, yet he’ll get the Yankees through five-to-six innings before the bullpen takes over.
Flaherty should have a better start than he did a week ago in the NLCS, but that’s not saying much considering he was tagged for eight earned runs. With the Bronx Bombers doing some damage early, the Yankees will get out to an early 5-2 lead.
However, the Dodgers will not go away. Once Clay Holmes comes into the game, LA will touch him up for two runs cutting the deficit to one. While it may look like the Dodgers will yet again come from behind and take the first game of the series, Luke Weaver will come in and shut the door — thus giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead in this series.
As for Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto — arguably the two best hitters in this series — each of them will be held relatively in check. Don’t get used to it, as both should have massive series when it’s all said and done.
Prediction: 5-4 Yankees
