The Dodger play their second match point as they send Jack Flaherty against the Yankees and Gerrit Cole in game five of the 2024 World Series, Los Angeles up three games to one. This is a rematch of game one. Cole outpitched Flaherty, despite a low number of strikeouts. Cole stayed in the strike zone, as he did not walk a batter, and he kept the ball in the park. Note that the Mets did much better against Flaherty the second time they saw him, but part of that was Dave Roberts sacrificing Flaherty’s ERA to keep his bullpen fresh.

For the entire 2024 post season, Cole owns a 2.82 ERA while averaging just 6.4 K per 9 IP. Better batters can make contact against Cole, but with his good stuff, it’s not always great contact. Given the Yankees defensive miscues in this series, Cole would be better off with no contact rather than poor contact, but the Yankees will take another one run in six innings.

Enjoy!