Details of the Yankees' advantage over the Dodgers in the MLB World Series

Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz said Friday that he believes the New York Yankees have a huge advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The eight-time All-Star spoke about the Yankees' advantages when he joined Outkick's “Don't @ Me With Dan Dakch.”

“I think the Yankees have an advantage in the starting rotation. They have four starters. We haven't seen four starters all year, at least not in the series so far. We've had a bullpen game for years.''The Dodgers will have a bullpen game again, but the Yankees could potentially release four starting pitchers,'' Smoltz said.

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“What if (Yankees starting pitchers) just do their job and keep a good winning streak going? I read something in the stats and I had to look twice because it looked so easy. However, the Yankees have lost seven of four games in a row by allowing two runs or less in an inning.

“Four innings isn't a lot, but it depends on what's being evaluated and what a particular team has or doesn't have and what the state of the game is like. It just shows you what it is.”

The Yankees have used four starters this postseason: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Luis Gil.

Cole will start Game 1, but manager Aaron Boone announced Rodon and Schmidt will start Games 2 and 3.

The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the ALCS, giving them a chance to set up their rotation the way they wanted. If they had lost Game 5 in Cleveland, Cole would have started Game 6 and would not have started the World Series until Game 3 or 4.

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) speaks to the media before Game 1 of the 2024 MLB Playoffs ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner Imagen Images)

Meanwhile, the Dodgers only have three starting pitchers: Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler. Through 11 games, the Dodgers' starting pitchers have thrown a total of 40 innings, relying heavily on the bullpen.

Smoltz said manager Dave Roberts has to be smart about how he manages the bullpen.

“The Dodgers have a very deep bullpen right now, and we're going to rely on that a lot in winning games,” Smoltz said. “They've been very fortunate. Dave Roberts has been able to navigate through wins and big losses and not have to use high-leverage players. When the series gets to six or seven innings, you have to be heroic to win that series, but I think the Dodgers have the advantage in the bullpen.”

In the NLCS, the minimum margin of victory for each team in each game was four points, and the games were not particularly close, making it easy for Roberts to decide who to bring in from the bullpen. Smoltz doesn't expect the World Series to play out the same way.

Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown brings perfect conclusion to MLB's postseason dream

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty (0) reacts after the final out of the third inning against the New York Mets in Game 5 of the NLCS of the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. (Brad Penner Imagen Images)

“I think this World Series is going to be a lot closer, and Dave Roberts is going to have to make some very difficult decisions. For example, in the bottom of the fifth inning, he's down one or two and he has the spread. 'Let's say I'm down three or more, I'm probably not going to use them to stay in the game,' Smoltz said.

“He'll want to be able to stay in the game with the other relief pitchers, but you've got to keep your five or four top relievers in position to throw the knockout punch. So there you have it. “That's where the Yankees starting pitcher could present a really tough story for Dave,” Roberts said. ”

Cole enters Game 1 with a 1-0 record in three postseason starts and a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched.

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New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, 45, pitches in the bottom of the first inning against the Kansas City Royals during Game 4 of the ALDS of the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium. (Denny Medley Imagen Images)

Flaherty started Game 1 for the Dodgers, but had a mixed record, going 1-2 in three games with a 7.04 ERA in 15.1 innings. In Game 1 of the National League CS, Flaherty pitched a shutout for 7 innings against the Mets, but in Game 5 he lost his form, giving up 8 runs in 3 innings.

Manager Roberts announced that Yamamoto will start Game 2 against the Dodgers, but it has not yet been decided whether he will start Game 3 with Buehler or in the bullpen.

The World Series will officially begin on Friday at 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX with Flaherty throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium.

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