As two of baseball’s most historic franchises set to face off tonight at 8:08pm for this year’s edition of the Fall Classic, it’s certainly hard to remember a more star studded matchup on each side. With 8 All-Stars between both teams’ World Series rosters, including the likely AL and NL MVPs in Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, it seems hard to choose one team over the other. As we get ready for Game 1 tonight, we’ll take you through the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, as well as some key trends to look out for.
Yankees
The key strengths for the Yankees this postseason should be clear. The hitting at the top of the Bombers’ order has propelled them to the World Series, particularly between Soto, Stanton, and Torres, but they’ll need some more run production from the bottom of the lineup if they want to outscore the Dodger offense. Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Yankee 5-hole hitter who hit .273 with a .825 OPS after the Yankees traded for him at the deadline, has posted just a .147 batting average with a .481 OPS through the Yankees postseason so far. Yankee catcher Austin Wells, a Rookie of the Year favorite, has managed just a .091 batting average with a .348 OPS through the playoffs. While these hitters will be key in sharing the offensive load with the top of the lineup, the biggest factor in this World Series will be the Yankee captain. Despite smacking 2 homers to go along with 6 RBIs against Cleveland in the ALCS, Aaron Judge’s overall postseason struggles have continued as he has hit just .161 with a .704 OPS. If Judge can start hitting against the Dodgers’ injured starting rotation, it will take less attention off Soto and Stanton and pose a serious challenge to the Dodgers’ weakened starting pitching.
Unlike the Yankees, the Dodger order has put together significant run production outside of the top of the lineup. Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernandez, and Max Muncy have hit well through the postseason so far. The Yankee pitching will certainly have the advantage in terms of depth, but they’ll have more to worry about than just Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Kiké Hernandez, who has been red hot all postseason-long, has great career numbers against some key Yankee pitchers. He’s 7-19 with a 1.162 OPS in his career against Gerrit Cole, and 3-6 with 3 homers in his career against Carlos Rodón. The Yankee pitching looked solid while pitching to a 3.27 combined ERA against the less productive offenses of Cleveland and Kansas City, the question will be whether or not they can cool down the hot Dodger bats. The Yankee bullpen has been particularly reliable, especially back of the bullpen pitchers like Tim Hill and Mark Leiter Jr., who both pitched in high leverage situations in the ALCS. Overall, it will take more hitting from Aaron Judge and the end of the lineup over the next couple weeks to bring championship #28 to the Bronx.
Dodgers
Will the Dodgers be able to bring the World Series trophy back to LA after four years? Will Ohtani be able to finish his first season with the Dodgers with a World Series title? We are about to find out. The Dodgers will face the Yankees in the 2024 World Series. The two teams will determine the best team in the Major League this season, starting with Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 25th at Dodgers Stadium. This will be their first meeting in the World Series since 1981 and is expected to be an intense matchup.
The Dodgers started the playoffs with the first seed of the NL, netting 98 regular season wins. They advanced to the Championship Series after a bloody battle going to Game 5, meeting the Padres in the Division Series. They faced the Mets in the Championship Series and made it to the World Series after a close game, going all the way to Game 6. Tommy Edman, who became the Dodgers after being traded from the Cardinals this summer, was nominated as the NLCS MVP. He contributed to the Dodgers' advance to the World Series with a .341 batting average, 11 runs, and an OPS of .810 in 11 postseason games.
For the Dodgers to win the World Series, the performance of their starting pitchers is essential. Their bullpen played a crucial role in beating the Padres, giving up just six runs in 25.2 innings. On the other hand, the starting pitchers seem to be a big problem for the Dodgers, performing somewhat poorly compared to their values and how much they are paid. The Dodgers will likely have three starters for the series: Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler. Based on their pitching performance, the series' flow will likely change.
Lineup Predictions
- Shohei Ohtani (DH)
- Mookie Betts (RF)
- Teoscar Hernández (LF)
- Freddie Freeman (1B)
- Tommy Edman (SS)
- Max Muncy (3B)
- Enrique Hernández (CF)
- Will Smith (C)
- Gavin Lux (2B)
Pitching Rotation Predictions
- Game 1. Jack Flaherty
- Game 2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Game 3. Walker Buehler
- Game 4. Bullpen game
Tristan's World Series Prediction
Dodgers in 7