Game 2 is not necessarily a second-tier pitching matchup. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yankees starter Carlos Rodón are two of the 20 highest-paid starters in baseball history. At their best, they’ve been electric (even if that electric version hasn’t always shown up).
Above, you can see what Yamamoto and Rodón did in the regular season.
What’s curious for each is the venue for Game 2.
Yamamoto was better this season on the road. He had a 3.88 ERA in 10 starts at Dodger Stadium, but a 2.06 ERA in in eight starts away. His opponents’ OPS was more than 100 points higher in L.A. than on the road.
Rodón was the opposite. The Yankees’ starter had a 3.11 ERA in 14 starts at Yankee Stadium but a 4.69 ERA in 18 starts on the road. His opponents’ OPS was almost exactly 100 points higher on the road than in New York.
Yamamoto was better on the road, but he’s pitching at home. Rodón was better at home, but he’s pitching on the road. Of course, the postseason is a different animal.
Rodón did not face the Dodgers this season, but Yamamoto did face the Yankees and had one of his best starts, going seven shutout innings with two hits and seven strikeouts. That start, of course, came at Yankee Stadium.
“I think the experience from June will benefit me a little bit,” Yamamoto said. “But this is the World Series, and the lineup might also probably be different from June. I’m going to just study and get myself ready.”
