Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty bounces back with strong start in Game 1 of World Series – Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – Three years ago, Jack Flaherty sat in the stands at the World Series with fellow major leaguer Lucas Giolito and watched Max Fried, their former Harvard-Westlake High teammate, play for the Atlanta Braves in their title victory Houston.

Looking back on it this week, Flaherty admitted he had mixed emotions that night.

“It’s a weird feeling to see that because you’re excited for one of your best friends and you’re incredibly happy for him,” Flaherty said. “Plus, at the same time you’re a competitor and you want to be in that situation. You want to be on the field.”

He got his chance Friday night when he started Game 1 of the World Series, this time with Giolito and Fried watching from the stands at Dodger Stadium. Although Flaherty left the mound trailing by a run, he still provided the go-ahead run the Dodgers needed in a game they won 6-3 on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam.

“Jack threw his tail off,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He made a bad pitch, but he pitched great.”

Flaherty allowed a two-run home run to New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton in his 90th and final pitch of the night with one out in the sixth inning, but that was all he allowed. He struck out six and walked one.

“I thought he pitched really well,” catcher Will Smith said. “Just one mistake, the little backup curveball from Stanton. Other than that, he pitched really, really well.”

The Dodgers had lost two of Flaherty’s three previous starts this postseason, including an ugly performance in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. In that game, Flaherty gave up eight runs in three innings. Afterward, Roberts said Flaherty was “under the weather.”

Flaherty’s average fastball velocity was 93.3 mph during the regular season, but it dropped to 91.4 mph against the Mets. Additionally, Flaherty didn’t get a single whiff of it during 16 ankle turns that gave the Mets hitters swings.

Against the Yankees, Flaherty’s average fastball reached up to 93.6 mph, and the Yankees failed at the ankle curve on 12 of their 17 swings.

“It was definitely crisper,” Smith said of Flaherty’s stuff compared to the previous game against the Mets. “Getting the ball to good spots. Conduct pitches. Definitely much better. Kind of like the first game of the NLCS.”

Flaherty pitched seven scoreless innings in the NLCS opener against the Mets.

Before taking the ball against the Yankees, he acknowledged that he would be facing a dangerous lineup full of hitters who can’t hit balls out of the zone and hit those in the zone.

The most dangerous hitter of all is Aaron Judge, probably the MVP of the American League.

Flaherty hit him three times.