Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty bounces back with strong start in Game 1 of World Series
LOS ANGELES — Three years ago, Jack Flaherty was in the stands at the World Series, along with fellow major leaguer Lucas Giolito, watching Max Fried, their former Harvard-Westlake High teammate, pitch for the Atlanta Braves in their title-clinching win in Houston.
As Flaherty looked back on that this week, he admitted to mixed feelings that night.
“It’s a funny feeling watching that because you’re excited for one of your best friends and you’re incredibly happy for him,” Flaherty said. “Also at that same moment you’re a competitor and you want to be in that situation. You want to be on the field.”
He got his chance on Friday night, starting Game 1 of the World Series, this time with Giolito and Fried watching from the stands at Dodger Stadium. Although Flaherty left the mound with a one-run deficit, he nonetheless delivered the kind of start the Dodgers needed in a game they went on to win, 6-3, on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam.
“Jack pitched his tail off,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He made one bad pitch, but he pitched great.”
Flaherty gave up a two-run homer to New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton on his 90th and final pitch of the night, with one out in the sixth inning, but that was all he allowed. He struck out six and walked one.
“I thought he pitched really well,” catcher Will Smith said. “Just one mistake, the Stanton little backup curveball. Other than that, he pitched really, really well.”
The Dodgers had lost two of Flaherty’s three previous starts this postseason, including an ugly performance in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. In that game, Flaherty gave up eight runs in three innings. Afterward, Roberts said that Flaherty had been “under the weather.”
Flaherty’s average fastball velocity during the regular season was 93.3 mph, and it was down to 91.4 mph against the Mets. Also, Flaherty did not get a single whiff on 16 knuckle curves that drew swings from Mets hitters.
Against the Yankees, Flaherty’s average fastball was up to 93.6 mph, and the Yankees whiffed on 12 of their 17 swings at the his knuckle curve.
“It was definitely crisper,” Smith said of Flaherty’s stuff, compared with the previous game against the Mets. “Putting the ball in good spots. Executing pitches. Definitely a lot better. Kind of like the first game of the NLCS.”
Flaherty pitched seven scoreless innings in the NLCS opener against the Mets.
Before he took the ball against the Yankees, he acknowledged that he was going to be a facing a dangerous lineup full of hitters who don’t swing at pitches out of the zone, and can hammer the ones in the zone.
The most dangerous hitter of them all is Aaron Judge, the likely American League MVP.
Flaherty struck him out three times.
“Judge is unbelievable,” Flaherty said. “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. What he’s done through his career and what he’s done over the course of this year has been second to none. You’ve got to make really good pitches. You take today and kind of funnel it away and remember it, but remember that’s one day and he’s going to be ready for the next one.”
Flaherty was not as good against the other two members of the Yankees’ dangerous trio.
Juan Soto, who hits before Judge, singled and walked in three trips against Flaherty. He was on base when Stanton hit the two-run homer that put the Yankees ahead 2-1 in the sixth.
“Make a mistake, and Giancarlo puts a good swing on the ball, which is what he’s done all postseason and throughout his entire career really,” Flaherty said. “So you’d like that one back, but you’ve got to go out and get ready for the next one. So it was good. Adjustments were made, and now we’ve got to go make a couple more and just review today and go over it, take the good, and then just – yeah, just pitch by pitch on the next one.”