Why Losing World Series In Game 5 Could Be Extra Painful For Yankees

The Yankees will try to save their season (again) Wednesday night when they send their $324 million man to the mound. The Dodgers will try (again) to win the World Series, as they hand the ball to a guy who has been in LA for three months.

In the end, it could be an extremely embarrassing situation for the Yankees.

The Dodgers let New York off the mat Tuesday night in Game 4. New York’s offense finally came alive, pummeling the Dodgers, who were forced to use a bullpen game with the Commissioner’s Trophy nearly in their grasp.

That Dave Roberts’ team had to use a bullpen game in the World Series speaks in part to problems that led them to Jack Flaherty, LA’s Game 5 starter. The Dodgers acquired Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers at the MLB trade deadline on July 31.

It was another in a long line of Andrew Friedman’s savvy decisions. Flaherty went 6-2 with the Dodgers down the stretch, striking out 10 batters per nine innings; Los Angeles won seven of his 10 starts. He has been slightly less consistent in the playoffs — his eight-run, Game 5 stinker against the Mets sticks out like a sore thumb — but he has certainly helped the Dodgers on their path to the 10 wins needed to win the World Series. Flaherty opened the National League Championship Series with a gem against the Mets, and he pitched five-plus solid innings to open the World Series, too.

What could make Wednesday night an especially tough pill for the Yankees to swallow is they could have had Flaherty. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported at the time that the Yankees had a deal in place with the Tigers that would have landed the right-handed pitcher in the Bronx. However, Flaherty’s lingering lower-back injury, according to Rosenthal, was a concern for New York. After seeing his medical records, the Yankees backed out of the deal.

Now, Flaherty can pull a Josh Beckett, and help his team clinch the World Series in New York.

What could make it even more painful for New York is if Game 5 starter Gerrit Cole can’t meet the moment. In his defense, Cole has more or less done just that in his time with the Yankees. New York is 7-4 in his 11 postseason starts, and he allowed just four earned runs in his three most recent starts. But if Cole lays an egg as he did in the 2021 wild-card game — he allowed three runs in just two innings in a season-ending loss to the Boston Red Sox — the whole situation will look even worse.

And if you really want to kick the Yankees when they’re down, assuming they can’t find a way Wednesday night, consider the Yankees also were reportedly in talks to acquire Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals. That didn’t come to fruition. Instead, the Cardinals dealt the utilityman to the Dodgers in a three-team deal that also led to LA acquiring Michael Kopech from the White Sox. Edman has stabilized the shortstop position for the Dodgers while hitting .339 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 15 postseason games for the NL champions.

It’s not as if the Yankees sat on their hands at the deadline. General manager Brian Cashman was able to reel in Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins. Chisolm helped solidify the Yankees’ infield at third base despite never having played the position, and he hit .273 with 11 home runs in the regular season but has struggled in the postseason.

Flaherty, though, offers a potentially painful reminder of what could have been. That pain could be intensified if the Dodgers pop champagne Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.