Why Dodgers are concerned about Jack Flaherty ahead of Game 1 World Series start

The Dodgers caput into Game 1 of nan World Series pinch a mobility mark.

Jack Flaherty is starting nan opener Friday night, contempt getting lit up successful his past commencement successful Game 5 of nan National League Championship Series erstwhile he knowledgeable a noticeable driblet successful velocity.

That driblet has nan team’s pitching coach, Mark Prior, “moderately concerned,” according to ESPN.

Flaherty sewage torched for eight runs successful conscionable 3 innings against nan Mets and had an mean fastball velocity of 91.4 MPH.

This is down importantly from his play mean of 93.3 MPH.

The 8 runs he allowed are nan astir he coughed up successful immoderate crippled this season.

The Dodgers, for now, are chopping it up to little remainder successful nan postseason, but their pitching coach is still concerned astir nan development.

“Obviously, everybody knows — nan much velocity, nan better, usually – unless you’re going measurement beneath hitting speed,” Prior told reporters astatine World Series media time Thursday. “Concern, yeah, because evidently he was pitching connected regular remainder and it was a small spot down.

“Can he transportation pinch it? Yeah. He’s personification who’s much astir execution that anything. And I deliberation they did a really bully occupation of crippled readying nan 2nd clip through, sitting connected immoderate of their slower rotation stuff. But I deliberation pinch other remainder and what we saw successful bullpens, I consciousness beautiful assured that he tin get backmost to wherever he was nan different time.”

Flaherty, though, did propulsion 7 shutout innings to unfastened nan NLCS and will person six days remainder heading into this start.

Flaherty, whom nan Dodgers acquired astatine nan waste and acquisition deadline and personification nan Yankees had important liking successful earlier refusing to motion disconnected connected his aesculapian history owed to a backmost concern, is now a awesome subplot of nan World Series.

Los Angeles has had a important drawstring of bad wounded luck, seeing astir of their starting rotation already spell down pinch injury.

Follow The Post’s sum of nan Yankees successful nan postseason:

• Aaron Judge tin free himself of Dodger Stadium and playoff demons successful 1 fell swoop
• Sherman: Gerrit Cole pitching for his Yankees — and shot — legacy
• Heyman: Dodgers had to return a chance nan Yankees couldn’t stomach
• Yankees outfielder has other World Series motivation: ‘I was upset’

Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow are erstwhile Cy Young winners that were expected to beryllium awesome contributors successful 2024 but person been retired owed to wounded for astir of nan play and won’t transportation successful nan World Series.

Los Angeles has different pitchers connected nan injured list, including Tony Gonsolin, Emmett Sheehan, Gavin Stone, and Dustin May, each of whom would beryllium awesome pieces to their World Series puzzle.

Shohei Ohtani is simply a portion of their pitching future, but will not beryllium connected nan mound successful this World Series.

Instead, nan Dodgers are tasked pinch making do pinch conscionable Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and an expected bullpen game.