Our Yankees vs Dodgers World Series Game 1 prediction is for New York to win.
In a rematch reminiscent of baseball’s greatest historical rivalries, the Yankees will meet their former city-mate and longtime competition for MLB supremacy, the Dodgers.
The Dodgers (98-64) had a better record than the Yankees (94-68). Therefore, they have home field advantage in the World Series.
Head-to-head, the teams have met in the World Series 11 times with New York winning eight and Brooklyn/Los Angeles winning three.
Offshore Odds: Dodgers Are Favored in Game 1 at Home
| Team | Run Line | Money Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | +1.5 (-190) | +109 | O 8.5 (-110) |
| Dodgers | -1.5 (+165) | -119 | U 8.5 (+117) |
Yankees Send Ace Gerrit Cole to the Mound in His Hometown
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole grew up in Southern California and attended UCLA. Much of the Dodgers’ lineup has had extensive experience against Cole and vice versa. The righty has handled Shohei Ohtani, holding him to a .200 batting average and one home run in 20 at-bats.
Kiké Hernandez has a .381/.480/.667 slash line against Cole with three doubles and one home run. Freddie Freeman, still nursing a severely sprained ankle and questionable from game to game, has a .350 career average and one home run. Teoscar Hernandez is 5 for 26 with one home run.
Dodgers Counter With Jack Flaherty
Los Angeles has been mixing and matching with its pitching. Injuries have ravaged their pitching staff leaving them with Flaherty as their nominal ace and a spate of bullpen games. Flaherty threw seven shutout innings in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Mets. However, the Mets blasted him in Game 5. In the NLDS against San Diego, he surrendered seven runs in 10.1 innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is quick to go to his deep and diverse bullpen and with the success the Yankees’ secondary bats have had against Flaherty, he’ll probably need to. Anthony Rizzo in particular has pounded the Dodgers righty with three home runs in 21 at-bats. Rizzo might be compromised as he is playing with two broken fingers.
Flaherty has held Juan Soto to one hit in nine at-bats. He has never faced Aaron Judge or ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton.
World Series Game 1 Prediction
The Dodgers punted two games in their NLCS win over the Mets. Still, Los Angeles managed to squeak through. The Yankees were similarly fortunate in their ALCS win over the Guardians as Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase blew two games. That unexpected failure and his team’s poor execution ruined the Guardians’ chance at an upset.
The Dodgers are one of baseball’s most disciplined teams at the plate, but that will not help them against Cole, who is always around the strike zone. Flaherty cannot keep the Yankees’ lineup down. The key is which team gets greater length from its starter and the Yankees have a huge advantage on the mound.
The Yankees should win Game 1 outright.
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