The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, but feel comfortable with their position with Jack Flaherty starting Wednesday.
Making his second start of the World Series, Flaherty aims to build off a Game 1 outing, when he threw 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. Striking out six, Flaherty believes his approach will again open the door for another successful appearance.
“In a good spot,” Flaherty said. “Looking forward to getting ready for tomorrow and just keeping things one day at a time. Making sure that we make the adjustments that are necessary after Game 1, especially learning after the last time how the NLCS went and just trying to make some adjustments.”
When Flaherty was at his best during the regular season, good fastball command and an aggressive approach equated to his best stuff. Continuing that into the postseason was clear in his Game 1 start, when Flaherty leaned on that fastball and assorted breaking balls.
“Just sticking to what we do and being able to make sure we don’t try to do too much and make sure that we can slow the game down a little bit and just make sure we take things one pitch at a time,” he continued. “Kind of take that same mindset from the first game and go into it but be able to make adjustments on the fly.”
The Dodgers hope to avoid Game 6 at Dodger Stadium after going up 3-0 in the series. No team has ever forced a Game 6 of the World Series after falling into a 3-0 deficit.
Flaherty made one start on the road in the National League Championship Series, lasting just three innings against the New York Mets. It was an odd daytime start, when he allowed eight earned runs over three innings, showing some diminished velocity across the board.
Any concern with Jack Flaherty’s health?
Because Flaherty’s fastball velocity ticked back up to regular spots in Game 1 of the World Series, there isn’t concern unless it’s quickly noticed by the radar gun. The main issue is that it devalues the rest of his arsenal because batters don’t have to respect getting beat by anything hard.
Any notable health issue is perhaps his right hamstring, which Flaherty noted as feeling snag a bit on the pitch prior to allowing a home run in his last start. He doesn’t feel it’ll be a worry and is on track.
“It’s caused a little extra work that I normally wouldn’t have to do, but I’m feeling good today,” Flaherty said. “Felt good [Monday] during my bullpen. At this point, it’s not anything I’m worried about.”
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