Game Three of the 2024 World Series on Monday night will be another crucial one, especially for the New York Yankees. The Yankees dropped the first two games to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. They will need to play from behind. Each starting pitcher in this game will play a big factor once again.
The Yankees had a solid start from Gerrit Cole in Game One of the Fall Classic. But Carlos Rodón‘s Game Two outing was a detriment from early on.
The lefty lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and four earned runs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, on the other hand, lasted twice the distance keeping the Yankees at one hit in 6 1/3. Juan Soto‘s solo home run was New York’s only hit going into the ninth inning, and despite a late rally, the Yankees lost 4-2.
Game Three in the Bronx will feature starting pitchers Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers. The outcome of the matchup again will depend on the starters’ dominance and length as well as bullpen utilization.
Previewing the Pitching Matchup for World Series Game Three
Yankees Starting Pitcher: Clarke Schmidt
The Yankees will look to right-hander Clarke Schmidt to assist in a series bounceback in the Bronx. Schmidt has had two decent outings so far in the postseason, throwing 4 2/3 innings in both. Schmidt faced the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series and the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. In those two starts, Schmidt accrued 9 1/3 innings pitched with six strikeouts, three walks, four earned runs, nine hits, and a 3.86 ERA. Schmidt did not face the Dodgers this season and will get his first look at them on Monday.
Clarke Schmidt on his father piloting the Yankees’ flight to Los Angeles for the World Series:
“Everybody feels like the pilot’s a little bit more personally invested into the flight, so they feel a little safer” ? pic.twitter.com/Q0dYr5CHoD
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 26, 2024
What Will the Dodgers Expect from Schmidt?
The Dodgers won’t be seeing any four or two-seam fastballs, as Schmidt does not use either. He mixes a five-pitch repertoire with four of them above 15% usage this season. His top pitch is a cutter, followed by a sweeper sinker, knuckle-curve, and changeup.
The changeup is the least used pitch in his mix. The cutter is his go-to option. It is well-commanded and finds the zone without fear. It carries a put-away percentage of 22.6%, the highest of all his pitches.
His sweeper is his second most used option and has a put-away percentage of 17.2%. It darts well with a 12.4-inch glove-side break. Another effective put-away pitch is his knuckle curve. It has a 16.2 glove-side horizontal break and a -10.4-inch vertical break.
This pitch works well, especially inside and away to lefty hitters. Considering Los Angeles has players like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy with extreme power from the left side, this option is fitting for such matchups.
Schmidt forces a fair amount of both groundouts and flyouts. This will force his defense to work and make plays.
Dodgers Starting Pitcher: Walker Buehler
If the Yankees want to find their groove at the plate and start a series comeback, Walker Buehler would be a good pitcher to spark it against. Buehler has struggled this season, going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA. He threw 75 1/3 innings in the regular season, striking out 64 and walking 28. This postseason, he’s gone 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has thrown nine total innings this postseason; four against the Mets in the National League Championship Series and five against the Padres in the NLDS. In those starts, he allowed 10 hits giving up six earned runs, walking three, and striking out six.
Buehler has seven different options in his pitch bank. He works a four-seam fastball, cutter, knuckle curve, and sinker, and more rarely uses a sweeper, changeup, and slider. His cutter is probably his most effective option.
The sweeper has a higher put-away percentage but is used way less than the cutter. His fastball is commanded well, working up to 96 mph. Buehler’s offspeed stuff naturally forces ground ball outs, and he sits at a 46.2% ground-out rate.
The Dodgers right-hander is known to miss spots at times. The Yankees bats could capitalize early in the game if this occurs. Game Three of the World Series will come down to starting pitching dominance as well as bullpen reliability.
Photo Credit: © Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
