Yankees’ perceived starting pitching advantage against Dodgers wasted in first two games of World Series

The last time the Yankees played in the World Series, back in 2009, they had dropped the opener to the Philadelphia Phillies and were staring at a serious deficit if a sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-combustible starter didn’t deliver in Game 2. Then AJ Burnett overwhelmed Philadelphia with seven terrific innings and the Yanks began to take control of a Fall Classic they’d eventually win in six games.

A similar scenario was percolating Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. The current Yankees, who had lost Game 1, were hoping that Carlos Rodón, their Game 2 starter, could pull a Burnett and deal. There are similarities between the pitchers – Rodón has shown plenty of high-octane stuff in his career, but he’s been erratic, too, which, in part, is why he carried a 4.40 ERA this postseason into his start.

Rodón allowed four runs and six hits in 3.1 innings against the non-stop Dodger offense and the Yankees fell in Game 2 by a 4-2 score, putting them in deep trouble in this World Series. The Dodgers, who are waiting to hear about the severity of Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury, lead the best-of-seven Fall Classic, 2-0. The previous 56 times a team has gone up, 2-0, in the World Series, they’ve won it 45 times. That’s 80.4 percent.

So that’s the daunting task the Yankees face in a series that, in some ways, feels closer than 2-0, especially since two bases-loaded at-bats in the final inning of each game have had such an impact – Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 1, but Yankees pinch-hitter Jose Trevino flew out to end Game 2.

Still, the Yankees have now wasted what was perceived, at least before the series, as their biggest potential advantage – their top two starters. While Gerrit Cole was sharp in Game 1, allowing one run in six innings, the Yankees lost despite his performance. And then they lost Game 2, too, when Rodón faltered.

Maybe, the Dodgers would argue, no pinstriped pitching advantage ever existed. The performance by LA starters certainly points to that. The Dodgers got a good start from Jack Flaherty in Game 1 and then a superb one from Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 in which the only hit he allowed in 6.1 innings was Juan Soto’s solo homer.

Entering the World Series, it was fair to wonder how the Dodgers would cobble together enough pitching against the Yanks’ rugged lineup, but after two games their rotation has thrown 11.2 frames and has a 2.31 ERA. The Yanks are at 9.1 innings and 4.82, though most of that falls on Rodón.

Yankee starters, at least Cole and Rodón, were supposed to provide innings to keep the bullpen as rested as possible for high-leverage moments against the Dodger lineup. Cole and Rodón have some of the best pure stuff in the Yankee rotation and attacking the Dodger hitters, who do not chase pitches often, seemed like a potential recipe for success.

Now the Yanks have to claw their way back into a series with Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil scheduled to pitch.

Rodón’s outing crumbled because of an old bugaboo – home runs. He allowed 31 of them during the regular season, the second-highest total in the major leagues. Saturday night, he gave up homers to Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernández and Freeman.

After the game, Rodón told SNY’s Andy Martino in Los Angeles that he was dealing with a blister on one of his fingers. Rodón had not had one this year until now and doesn’t expect this one to be a problem going forward.

Of course, with the way things are going for the Yankees, who knows if Rodón’s turn comes up again? While the games have been close, the Yanks have had sloppy moments, which cropped up during their topsy-turvy regular season, too.

And Aaron Judge is a mess. He’s 1-for-9 in the World Series with six strikeouts, a continuation of a rough postseason for the Yankees’ best player. Overall, the Yanks are batting .197 in the series and are just 2-for-14 (.143) with runners in scoring position. They’ve scored five runs, or half of the amount the Dodgers have tallied.

The series is not over yet, but it’s fair to wonder where the Yankees’ edge is now. The perceived one only existed in, well, perception, at least so far.

The series shifts to The Bronx for Monday’s Game 3. Maybe there’s still time for two different pitchers to turn the rotation into a Yankee advantage, but it’ll have to happen before the Dodgers win two more games.