The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from another World Series title.
The Dodgers had a 2-0 lead heading into Monday night’s pivotal game and a stellar outing from Walker Buehler gave L.A. a commanding 3-0 series lead.
There won’t be any time to relax or rest ahead of Game 4 since it’s happening on Tuesday night and the Yankees have announced that the young right-hander Luis Gil will start. As for the Dodgers, it appears it’s going to be another bullpen game.
Let’s preview this crucial Game 4 and see if the Dodgers are able to win the World Series tonight in New York or if the Yankees can win on the brink of elimination.
Game 4 has been the toughest game for the Dodgers all postseason. That’s because Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler have already pitched and are unavailable on such short rest. And since the Dodgers lost Tyler Glasnow, River Ryan, and Clayton Kershaw in the second half of the season, they have had to resort to a bullpen game a lot in the postseason.
It’s going to be a full team effort from the Dodgers bullpen on Tuesday night and a lot of the guys that appeared for them last night will likely return to the mound in Game 4. In bullpen games this postseason, the Dodgers have usually started Ryan Brasier for an inning and then followed him with Landon Knack, Anthony Banda, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, and Blake Treinen.
Most relievers will only throw an inning before handing it off to the next guy, but we could see Knack appear in a long-relief role if needed. This is the best chance for the Yankees offense to get going since they won’t have to face one of the Dodgers trio of starters.
The Yankees lineup has been dominated by Flaherty, Yamamoto, and Buehler in this series. The trio of right-handers were phenomenal in the previous postseason series and have been even better in the World Series. However, all three pitchers are unavailable tonight since they are on such short rest.
I’m expecting Flaherty to start in Game 5 tomorrow since he will be on 4 days of rest which means the Yankees need to take advantage of the bullpen game and win Game 4.
The New York lineup managed just five hits in last night’s loss and Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge were held hitless.
All three hitters managed to get on base with a walk, but that’s L.A.’s game plan. They know that Soto and Judge are the most dangerous hitters in their lineup, so a walk isn’t the worst thing ever since it takes the bat out of their hands and forces guys like Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe, and Jazz Chisholm to produce.
I’m expecting the top three in New York’s lineup to be more aggressive tonight and lead the Yankees to their first win in the World Series.
The total for each game has been set at 8.5 and only Game 1 passed that number. Even then, it took a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th for the over to win by one run. Since then, Games 2 and 3 finished with just six runs and neither offense has been explosive.
The Yankees and Dodgers combined for just 10 hits last night as a battle of good pitching and elite bullpens were able to keep the opposing offense limited. I’m expecting the trend of low-scoring games to continue since this game means everything to the Yankees.
New York has its back to the wall and must win tonight to extend their season which means Luis Gil is not going to have a long leash. Aaron Boone will try and get three or four innings out of Gil, but the second he runs into trouble, the bullpen is going to get involved. That’s going to eliminate the chances for rallies and runs in bunches.
Let’s be honest - the Yankees lineup has been pretty bad lately. Soto and Stanton are doing their jobs, but Judge and the rest of the Yankees lineup has been brutal.
Whether it’s the nerves of the World Series or the excellent pitching from the Dodgers staff, the New York lineup has been disappointing. They’ve managed just seven runs in this series so far and I don’t think a slugfest is in the cards for tonight. I think a Yankees win pairs nicely with the under and I’m projecting a score of 3-2 in favor of New York.
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Los Angeles Dodgers | +125 ML |
New York Yankees | -150 ML |
Run Line | NY Yankees -1.5 |
Total | O/U 8.5 |
Aaron Judge (NY Yankees) | +220 |
Giancarlo Stanton (NY Yankees) | +260 |
Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) | +300 |
Juan Soto (NY Yankees) | +300 |
Max Muncy (LA Dodgers) | +425 |
Mookie Betts (LA Dodgers) | +525 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.