Yankees vs. Dodgers predictions, World Series picks, best bets: Can Aaron Judge finally break out in Game 5?
The Yankees stayed alive in Game 4, can they extend the Fall Classic into November?
by Matt Snyder · CBS SportsNEW YORK -- Hey, the Yankees won a game. That means teams in best-of-seven playoff series to start the series up 3-0 have gone on to win Game 4 31 of the 41 times. The Yankees are in rarefied air. It is, of course, an incredibly tall order to think they can come back and win the series, but it's actually possible for them to make this interesting or even a great series. No team down 3-0 in the World Series has ever forced a Game 6 before.
Let's grab some gambling plays while we're here, too.
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Yankees at Dodgers, 8:08 p.m. ET
RHP Gerrit Cole vs. RHP Jack Flaherty
Cole was great in Game 1, only allowing one run in six innings and, in fact, there were a lot of questions about Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulling him from the game instead of leaving him in as he wasn't yet to 90 pitches. It's always possible a team seeing Cole for the second time in five games will feel more comfortable, but it's also possible he just deals like an ace again. For whatever it's worth, he's been much better on the road than at home this season.
Flaherty gave up two runs last outing, but he was scoreless through five. He allowed the two-run bomb to Giancarlo Stanton when seeing the lineup a third time. Given that the Dodgers didn't use Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, Anthony Banda or Brusdar Graterol in Game 4, I'd expect a shorter Flaherty outing regardless of how he's pitching. These would be exactly the same six pitchers who worked in Game 1.
The play: Freddie Freeman over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-115)
Look, you just gotta ride the wave at this point. Sure, he'll eventually stop hitting home runs, but he's so locked in right now there's no reason to turn away.
On the other end of the spectrum ...
The play: Aaron Judge over 2.5 hits + runs + RBI (+110)
Judge is too good a player to keep struggling as mightily as he has. There was a few decent signs in Game 4, too. He drew a walk, he just missed a somewhat deep flyout and then hit a really hard line drive for an RBI single in his last at-bat. Getting that low-leverage RBI knock to end the night along with a Yankees win could really do wonders to help clear his head. I just have a gut feeling he's gonna bust out.