Dodgers Jack Flaherty on Starting Game 1 of World Series vs Yankees: “What we all wanted as kids”
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Jack Flaherty is set to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener against the New York Yankees and fellow Southern California native Gerrit Cole on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
This highly anticipated showdown between the Dodgers’ right-hander and Cole, both area natives, is the perfect stage for postseason drama.
Flaherty, who grew up in nearby Burbank and attended Harvard-Westlake High School, will face Cole, a product of Tustin in Orange County and UCLA. For Flaherty, the significance of the moment isn’t lost.
“There’s no bigger stage than this and it’s what we all wanted as kids and the position we wanted to be in,” Flaherty said during a Zoom press conference Tuesday. “It’s just going to be an incredible matchup.”
Adding to the emotional backdrop, Flaherty’s mother, Eileen, who adopted him days after his birth, will be among the family and friends in attendance to cheer him on. Flaherty emphasized the importance of their support: “They always remind me at the end of the day that it’s never as big of a situation as everybody else is going to make it seem.”
The 29-year-old pitcher arrived in Los Angeles after being traded from the Detroit Tigers at the July deadline. Interestingly, the Yankees were among the teams trying to acquire Flaherty, but the deal fell through due to disagreements over prospects.
“There’s more to all that with the deadline that I’ve just kind of held onto,” Flaherty shared. “Things turned out the way that they did and we’re here, we’re with LA. I’m happy for the situation that I’m in.”
Flaherty has had an up-and-down postseason. After a dominant Game 1 performance in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the New York Mets, where he allowed just two hits over seven innings, he struggled in Game 5. He gave up eight earned runs and four walks in just three innings, showing drops in velocity and spin rate. Manager Dave Roberts later revealed Flaherty had been feeling under the weather.
“That’s a lesson to be learned,” Roberts said. “That’s another experienced moment for him that I think can kind of help him in this series. We weathered it. I think he’s healthy now and he’ll spit out a good one on Friday.”
Flaherty himself took responsibility for his Game 5 performance, noting that the game felt like it sped up on him: “I was multiple times one pitch away from getting out of it, where it’s still either 3-1 or 5-1 instead of it getting to 8-1. It was right there, and if we can control a couple more things, we’ll be in a better spot.”
Dodgers rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the team’s $325 million signing, will start Game 2 on Saturday. The Dodgers also plan a bullpen game at some point during the series.
For Flaherty, this World Series marks a personal milestone. Three years ago, he was watching his former high school teammate Max Fried win the World Series for the Atlanta Braves. Now, it’s Flaherty’s turn to take the mound in a World Series opener.
“It’s an opportunity to go out and set the tone and make some adjustments after the last game that I had,” Flaherty said, “and be able to set us up for kind of the rest of the series.”
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