Jack Flaherty breaks 58-year Los Angeles drought after confirming World Series Game 1 start for Dodgers vs Yankees
Jack Flaherty has been tabbed as the Game 1 starter for the LA Dodgers. He will get the ball to open the series at home and is set to become the first person from the LA area to start in the World Series opener in almost six decades.
The Dodgers are going with Flaherty, who has been up and down in the postseason and will follow with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. The New York Yankees will counter with Gerrit Cole. Their Game 2 starter will likely be Carlos Rodon, but they haven't set that in stone.
If not Rodon, it would be Clarke Schmidt or Luis Gil. The three will make up the next three games before turning it back to Cole in Game 5, if necessary.
The Dodgers will likely have to use bullpen days, as they have Walker Buehler likely in line for a start, but they have only used three starters so far. Flaherty could also return for Game 5, just like Cole.
Jack Flaherty ready for Game 1 start
Jack Flaherty will start arguably the biggest game yet for LA. To get off to a 1-0 start, they'll need a good performance from him, who has had good and bad starts in October leading up to the World Series.
Flaherty can't wait for the series to start.
“It’ll be fun," Flaherty said, via MLB on Tuesday. "It’ll be exciting. I’m looking forward to Friday. There’s no bigger stage than this. It’s what we all wanted as kids, the position we want to be in. I have no words for it. I’m just looking forward to Friday.”
The Yankees briefly considered trading for Flaherty at the trade deadline. His former team, the Detroit Tigers, was floundering before ironically getting hot and making it to the ALDS.
The Yanks balked at a potential issue with Flaherty's back, so the Dodgers swooped in. Now, he's going to face them in the first game of the highly-anticipated World Series.