The World Series continues on Monday night with Game 3 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
The setting has changed from sunny Southern California to the busy city of New York for Game 3 and that has led to the Yankees being the favorite for the first time in this series.
The probable pitchers are Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers, so is this finally the time when the Yankees get their first win? Or can the Dodgers take a commanding 3-0 lead? Here’s a brief preview of Game 3 with our expert’s best bets.
The Dodgers left Los Angeles with a 2-0 series lead and are now just 2 wins away from another World Series title.
Unfortunately for them, the next 3 games are in New York and Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto won’t be available until Game 5 at the earliest. This is the part of the series when the Dodgers have struggled because of that.
L.A. has had to put a lot of faith into Walker Buehler even though he’s had an uncharacteristically bad season and he’s been a box of chocolates in the postseason. His first outing was in the NLDS against the Padres and he was rocked for 6 runs and 7 hits in just 5 innings. But Buehler bounced back in the NLCS and threw 4 scoreless innings and allowed just 3 hits and 6 strikeouts.
The right-hander finally looked like himself after months of inconsistency, and I’m taking a risk and sticking with him to have another quality start. Buehler has a knack for the big moments and seems to be at his best when the pressure is the highest, which is exactly the situation on Monday night. In 2 career starts in the World Series, Buehler has allowed just 1 run and 5 hits with 17 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Unlike Buehler, Clarke Schmidt is extremely easy to predict. The right-hander has been the #3 starter for the Yankees in the postseason and has done a good enough job to stay in that spot. However, it’s not like he’s dominating the opposing lineup.
Schmidt usually allows a few hits with a handful of runs and a walk or two each time he takes the mound. Just look at his 2 postseason starts for example. In the ALDS against the Royals: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB. And then in the ALCS against the Guardians: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB.
Dating back to the regular season, Schmidt has allowed at least 4 hits in 6 of his last 7 outings and at least 2 runs in 6 of his last 6 starts. He’s not the arm that I would want in a critical game like this, especially with how well the Dodgers offense has hit in the last few weeks. I’m taking the Dodgers at plus odds to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series.
The Yankees offense has been held down for the majority of the series. New York has 14 hits through 2 games and while Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton are getting on base and providing runners in scoring position, the question must be asked: where is Aaron Judge?
The Yankees captain has had a rough postseason with just a .150 average and a 47.5% strikeout rate against the Royals, Guardians, and Dodgers. And in just this series, Judge is 1-for-9 with 6 strikeouts. The leader of the offense, who had one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history, has been held in check by the Dodgers staff since he’s seen a steady diet of sliders and very few fastballs.
The good news for Judge is that Buehler relies on his fastball and cutter for nearly 50% of his pitches. He’s going to see plenty of sweepers too, but this is Judge’s opportunity to break out and contribute to the New York offense.
The Dodgers lineup has been fantastic since Opening Day and their efficiency didn’t stop when the calendar flipped to October. Los Angeles has scored at least 4 runs in 7 of their last 8 games and the entire lineup is producing.
It was expected for Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts to have success, but the uncertainty lay with guys like Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez, and Tommy Edman in the middle of the order. Fortunately for the Dodgers, those 3 guys have stepped up and are a big reason the Dodgers are leading this series.
I’m expecting the offense to continue to score against Schmidt tonight since the right-hander is vulnerable to being hit and has the tendency to walk a few hitters. If Judge can finally get going and the Dodgers continue to hit the way they have, this game could see double-digit runs.
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Los Angeles Dodgers | +125 ML |
New York Yankees | -150 ML |
Run Line | Yankees -1.5 (+135) |
Total | O/U 8.5 |
Aaron Judge | +230 |
Giancarlo Stanton | +300 |
Shohei Ohtani | +340 |
Juan Soto | +400 |
Max Muncy | +480 |
Mookie Betts | +600 |
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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.