LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty remained comfortable in front of his home fans, contributing to the 6-3 Game 1 World Series victory on the mound against the New York Yankees.
A product of nearby Harvard-Westlake prep, Flaherty produced another solid outing for the Dodgers while battling against his counterpart – and UCLA alum – Gerrit Cole of the Yankees.
Flaherty allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out six in 5⅓ innings.
“Just one pitch at a time,” Flaherty said about working his way through the game. “It was an incredible atmosphere and an unbelievable setting.”
Roberts was impressed with Flaherty’s overall performance outside of ‘one bad pitch.’
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In the sixth inning, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a two-run homer down the left field line off Flaherty on a 1-2 count, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead – prompting Roberts to remove Flaherty.
The Dodgers bullpen gave up one run the rest of the way in the series-opening win.
Flaherty was up for the challenge against a lineup that featured Aaron Judge, the likely American League Most Valuable Player. The pitcher got the best of Judge, striking him out in each of their three meetings Friday.
“It was great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think obviously he used the breaking ball, and that 3-2 strikeout with the fastball was a big strikeout right there.
“Aaron is an MVP. He’s going to win it this year, and you’ve got to be careful (with him).”
Said Flaherty: “Judge is unbelievable. I was able to make some good pitches. Some days that’s the way it goes. I made some good pitches and it worked out. We’ll figure out the next time how to get him out in different ways because that’s a good hitter that’s going to make adjustments.”
The Dodgers announced their seventh sellout of the postseason with 52,394 in attendance to watch the start of the series and pay tribute to another pitching legend.
Flaherty worked from a mound that had the No. 34 painted on it in honor of Fernando Valenzuela, who died Tuesday. The 29-year-old Flaherty walked into the stadium before the game wearing a Valenzuela jersey.
“He was a legend,” Flaherty said. “That was a tough loss for the Dodgers community. … I just tried to go out and channel the emotion and pitch with it and enjoy the stakes.”
Flaherty is coming off a National League Championship Series that saw him experience extreme highs and lows. In Game 1 against the New York Mets, he tossed six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. But in his Game 5 starter, he surrendered eight earned runs in three innings.
Flaherty will be on regular rest to start a Game 5 on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
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