World Series: 5 keys to Yankees vs. Dodgers

AARON JUDGE VS. SHOHEI OHTANI

Aaron Judge, expected to be named American League MVP in a runaway after hitting an MLB-leading 58 homers, against Shohei Ohtani, expected to be named National League MVP just as easily after a 54-homer, 59-steal season, is the most discussed aspect of this World Series matchup.

Ohtani’s postseason, however, has more resembled his regular season than Judge’s has. Ohtani, playing in his first postseason, is hitting .286 with three homers and a .934 OPS in 11 games. Judge has struggled throughout the postseason much of his career, and that has continued this year as he’s hit .161 with two homers and a .704 OPS in nine games. The Dodgers are a big step up in weight class from the Royals and Guardians, and though it’s not impossible, it’s difficult to see the Yankees prevailing without more of a contribution from their captain.

ROTATION,  ROTATION,  ROTATION

It seemed as if pretty much every postseason team — excluding the Yankees — went the bullpen route in at least one game. That includes the Dodgers, who have a team’s worth of starters on the injured list and who went with a bullpen game in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Padres in a win-or-go-home scenario. The Yankees will see three starters — Jack Flaherty, who will start Friday night’s Game 1, as well as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler.

The Yankees haven’t announced anything beyond Gerrit Cole as their Game 1 starter but are likely to duplicate what they did in the ALCS: Cole, followed by Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil. It remains to be seen if the Yankees having more starting pitching options will be an advantage, but, as the Guardians showed, even the best relievers run out of bullets.  

THE RESPECTIVE BULLPENS

The Guardians consistently had the best bullpen in the majors this season, but the well-used unit was gassed, starting with previously unhittable closer Emmanuel Clase in the ALCS. The Yankees experienced that to a lesser degree in the series.

Their bullpen, which threw 15 2⁄3 scoreless innings in the ALDS against the Royals and continued its strong performance in the first two games of the ALCS, showed some wear and tear, especially Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes, in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland.

The group, lefty Tim Hill in particular, recovered in Saturday night’s series-clinching 5-2, 10-inning victory. Collectively, no one with the Yankees has been happier with the time off before the World Series than the relievers.

GIANCARLO STANTON GOES HOME

Los Angeles native Giancarlo Stanton grew up going to Dodger Stadium with his father and has talked throughout his career about how much he enjoys hitting there. The numbers reflect it: A .309 batting average with 10 homers and a 1.086 OPS in 25 career games. He also earned All-Star Game MVP honors there in 2022 after hitting a two-run homer to left, with the ball landing 457 feet away in an area of the bleachers in which he chased batting practice balls as a kid.

And that’s before mentioning what Stanton has done in these playoffs, rising at last to fan-favorite status by hitting .294 with five homers — four in the ALCS, in which he was named MVP — and a 1.179 OPS in nine games.

ANTHONY RIZZO'S FINGERS

Much to the amazement of his teammates, Anthony Rizzo played the ALCS with two broken fingers on his right hand and went 6-for-14 (.429) in five games. “I don’t even have any words for that,” Austin Wells said, shaking his head.

But Rizzo — and this may or may not have had anything to do with his right hand — in various instances appeared a step slow in the field. In what is expected to be a tight series, Rizzo’s work around the bag could loom larger than what he does at the plate.

The Dodgers have their own concerns at first base as Freddie Freeman has been dealing with lingering issues from the right ankle sprain he suffered at the end of the regular season.