After the first two games of the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have shown some fight that previous teams didn’t.
Whether it was not being able to get a clutch hit with guys on base, Kershaw imploding, or trash can shenanigans, the Dodgers have often come up short during this stretch of the NL West nomination.
In the first two games of the World Series, the Dodgers have consistently demonstrated their ability to hit at crucial times, a promising sign even if they are still stranding baserunners. Freddie Freeman’s game-winning grand slam best illustrated this.
In Game Two, the bullpen nearly gave up a 4-1 lead, but Alex Vesia got Alex Trevino to fly out to center for the final out.
The pitching might be the biggest story outside Freeman’s grand slam and Shohei Ohtani’s injury.
The Yankees starting pitching was supposed to be head and shoulders better than the Dodgers, but that hasn’t been the case.
Jack Flaherty gave Los Angeles 5.1 innings with one mistake. The mistake was a Giancarlo Stanton home run on a 1-2 count. In Game Two, Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed why the Dodgers paid him $325M. Yamamoto gave up one run over 6.1 while striking out four.
The bullpen has backed up the strong starting pitching by getting enough key outs.
By no means is the series over. The difference between the Dodgers being up 2-0 and the Yankees being up 2-0 is Trevino being able to get a critical out while Nestor Cortes failed to do the same.
Both teams will be coming East for three games in chilly New York, where Dodgers bats and bullpen arms could go cold.
