Yankees vs. Dodgers prediction, picks, odds for World Series Game 2 on Saturday, Oct. 26

Yankees vs. Dodgers Game 2 Starting Pitchers

Kenny Ducey’s Yankees vs Dodgers Game 2 Preview

New York Yankees Betting Preview: Rodon Rolls Into Game 2

It’s been a masterful postseason for Carlos Rodon, who’s pitched to a 37.3% strikeout rate through three starts.

He’s bounced back nicely after a rocky inning against the Royals in the ALDS; he now owns a .237 Expected Batting Average (xBA) and .374 Expected Slugging Percentage (xSLG) in three outings after closing the season with excellent numbers in all three of these categories in the month of September.

Rodon faced an awfully tough test in the last round against the Guardians, who were one of the best teams in baseball at hitting lefties this season and owns one of the lowest strikeout rates in the last few years. All Rodon did was pass that test with flying colors, and along the way he’s walked just one batter in his three starts.

As for the Yankees offense, well, things continued to look bright even if they scored just three runs in Game 1.

New York carried a postseason-high xBA into the World Series along with a hefty walk rate, and managed 10 hits and four walks through 10 innings. Situational hitting remains a struggle, but you’d still bet on more runs coming from this offense given what we’ve seen.

Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview: Bad Matchup for Yamamoto

The Dodgers managed just seven hits and two walks in Game 1, but five of their hits went for extra bases.

Given Rodon’s .374 xSLG this postseason and ownership of these bats, the onus should once again be on Saturday’s starter to get the job done.

Expanding on the above briefly, the Dodgers not only seem to be relying on slugging this postseason and running into an unstoppable force but are simply in a bad matchup. Their .755 OPS against fly-ball arms like Rodon pales in comparison to their .799 OPS against ground-ballers, and the combination of Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Will Smith are just 4-for-47 lifetime against Rodon.

That should paint the matchup in a gloomy state, but what about Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

He shut down this Yankees team the only time these two met, striking out seven over seven frames with just two walks allowed.

Like L.A., New York has preferred to hit ground-ball arms, which does make a matchup with Yamamoto quite interesting, but the right-hander has owned brilliant expected numbers in his last two postseason outings with eight strikeouts against the Mets in the NLCS jumping off the page.

Yankees vs. Dodgers Prediction, Game 2 Betting Analysis

This matchup should be yet another one that Rodon can handle.

He was given no chance inside a small ballpark in Game 1 of the ALDS against a lefty-mashing Royals team that gets the ball in play. He responded against the Guardians with six innings of one-run ball, striking out nine and allowing three hits.

Of course, the Dodgers are a little bit better than the Guardians, but the fact remains that he’s been virtually unhittable for most of the last month. With excellent career numbers against the Dodgers, and an eye toward fly balls, I like his chances of putting the Yankees in the driver’s seat here.

On the flip side, the Yankees ranked second in the league with an .805 OPS to ground-ball pitchers this year, and while Yamamoto was able to clean up his act after a brutal first postseason start, I don’t think a strikeout and ground-ball artist is going to do the job here for L.A.

Yamamoto’s still been trying to reel in some control issues, and as he hunts strikeouts this one could easily get away from him.

New York’s putting great swings on the ball and should continue to hit, supporting Rodon in what should be another excellent turn through the rotation.

Pick: Yankees Moneyline +122

Moneyline

The Yankees are +122 underdogs and the Dodgers are -144 favorites on the moneyline. As I explained above, I’m on New York for Game 2.

Pick: Yankees Moneyline

Run Line (Spread)

I have no play on either side of the run line.

Pick: Pass

Over/Under

The over/under is set at 8.5 or 9 runs depending on the sportsbook. I have no play on the total.

Pick: Pass

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