The Dodgers will start Jack Flaherty in Game 1 of the World Series

LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers will turn to Jack Flaherty to start Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2.

Flaherty will start for New York in Game 1 against New York star Gerrit Cole, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Monday.

It's been a mixed bag for Flaherty this October, with a 7.04 ERA in his three postseason starts. He lost Game 2 of the NLDS to the Padres and tied a Dodgers record by allowing eight runs in his three innings in Game 5 against the Mets in New York last Friday. In between there were seven scoreless innings in Game 1 of the NLCS, the Dodgers' longest postseason start since 2021.

Although Flaherty played the first four months of this season with the Tigers, he did not face the Yankees. The last time he started against New York was on July 1, 2023, when he pitched six scoreless innings in the first game of a doubleheader for the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Flaherty has held Juan Soto to one double in eight at-bats and five walks in his career. Flaherty has never played Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton.

One could easily argue that Yamamoto is the Dodgers' best starter right now, but his usage is limited as the team plans to give him at least five days of rest between starts. If he starts Game 1, he wouldn't be able to start Game 5, which would be four days off. It would require at least two bullpen games in the World Series, while this setup at least allows the Dodgers to start Flaherty, Yamamoto and Walker Buehler potentially twice each during the Series should it go the distance.

So Yamamoto is scheduled for Game 2 and then again for Game 6 if the Fall Classic lasts that long. Roberts didn't commit to when Buehler would start, but it will depend on whether they feel they can best utilize a bullpen game either in Game 3 (the first of three straight days in New York) or in Game 4.

“There will be a bullpen game,” Roberts said. “In the next few days we will talk about what Games 3 and 4 look like.”

Yamamoto has a 5.11 ERA in his three postseason starts, but the most damage against him came in Game 1 of the NLDS when San Diego scored five runs against him. Since then, Yamamoto threw five scoreless innings to shut out the Padres in Game 5, then struck out eight Mets in 4⅓ innings in Game 4 of the NLCS, allowing two runs as the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead.