Back To The Well In Hoping Yankees Can Even It Up

Yankees vs. Dodgers, 8:08 ET

Game 1 was fantastic. I mean we really can't ask for much more than we got out of this one. The Dodgers took an early lead. Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball so high in the air it was absurd that it found its way over the fence. That gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Then Ohtani hit a double, advancing to third on an error. Tie ball game. Station to station baseball got the third run for the Yankees and then in the bottom of the 10th. BAM! Freddie Freeman hits a grand slam to walk off Game 1. Tonight, we are back on the diamond as the Yankees once again take on the Dodgers in LA for Game 2 of the World Series. Let's see how we should look to get a win in this one.

I've already recapped how the Yankees got here and how the Dodgers got here, so instead, I want to mention how cool this is that the MVPs are going to face each other in the World Series. The Yankees have Aaron Judge on their side. For the season, Judge mashed his way to 58 homers with a .322 batting average and 144 RBIs. Judge looked like the best player in baseball for the majority of the season, but did start to cool off late in the season and it carried over into the postseason. He was able to get going a bit late in the Guardians series, but had to relive the Yankees a bit to see him find ways to put the ball over the fence. On the other side of the diamond is the likely National League MVP, Shohei Ohtani. In the history of baseball, there has been exactly one guy that has had 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season: Ohtani. There could be a ton of words written about how good he is and all of his features, but it is hard to even quantify just how amazing he is. He received an insane contract from the Dodgers, and it is possible with the production and the revenue he generates that he is somehow underpaid. He hasn't even pitched for them - and won't, so there is a chance he can be better next year. This is the matchup of baseball executive dreams and as fans we should be excited as well.

Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman celebrates a three-run home run with C Will Smith and DH Shohei Ohtani vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

In tonight's contest, it is more than just the MVPs taking each other on. We also get a nice matchup between Carlos Rodon and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Rodon was handed a big contract from the Yankees two years ago and hasn't quite lived up to expectations. Rodon is 16-9 for the season with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The numbers are there, but there have been significant injury issues and some inconsistencies. He has been pretty decent in the playoffs, but hasn't gone overly deep into most of these games. He has pitched 14.1 innings and allowed seven earned runs. One great stat for him so far is that he has 22 strikeouts and just one walk. He has seen the Dodgers quite a bit and has been very successful against them with the exception of Enrique Hernandez. Overall, the team is 16-for-84 against Rodon but Mookie Betts is just 1-for-19 and Hernandez is 3-for-6 with three homers. On the Dodgers side, their starter, Yamamoto received a huge deal as well and did pitch fairly well this year but also has injury issues. For the season, Yamamoto is 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP. He has only made three starts as well and has covered 12.1 innings and allowed seven earned runs. He had a great start in Game 5 against the Padres when it mattered most. He did face the Yankees this season, and he had a great game, going seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out seven hitters.

It should be interesting to see which pitcher blinks first in this one. Rodon is a guy that I've backed quite a bit over the past three years, and he has pitched well against the Dodgers in the past. In the playoffs there are very quick hooks, I think that the first time there will be signs of trouble, Rodon will be pulled. Yamamoto has the same concern. If both teams are lucky they will get three innings out of both of them. I'm going to back the Yankees again here as I think this is going to be a zig-zag series. Hopefully they can even it up here.

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