The Los Angeles Dodgers are throwing a curveball to start the World Series.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers revealed their starter for Game 1 against the New York Yankees on Friday. They will be giving the ball to righty Jack Flaherty, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
That is a surprising decision for a couple of reasons. For one, Flaherty pitched more recently than both Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, getting the call in last Friday’s Game 5 of the NLCS vs. the New York Mets. For another, Buehler and Yamamoto both looked very good in their most recent starts (in Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS, respectively) while Flaherty was badly knocked around in his (giving up eight earned runs in a mere three innings).
Starting Flaherty in Game 1 of the World Series may be a forward-looking decision because of the packed schedule and the need for Yamamoto to get at least five days of rest in between his starts. But it is still a big risk for the Dodgers with the need to get off to a good start and defend their homefield advantage. If nothing else though, it creates another interesting storyline for Game 1 given the Yankees’ prior history with Flaherty.
