MLB World Series predictions, picks, best bets: Yankees and Dodgers continue to swing hot bats in Game 1

LOS ANGELES — The 2024 World Series is here. Get excited! 

We shouldn’t need much prodding. This is an awesome matchup. It’s the first Fall Classic between No. 1 seeds in the playoffs since 2013 and only the second this entire millennium. The Dodgers had the best record in baseball this season while the Yankees finished with the best AL record. The star power here is off the charts with Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Mookie Betts leading the way. 

Hopefully, we get to see seven games, but for now, we’ll zero in on Game 1.  

Let’s grab some gambling plays while we’re here, too. 

All odds via DraftKings. Check out the latest DraftKings promo code to take action on the World Series.

Yankees at Dodgers, 8:08 p.m. ET

RHP Gerrit Cole vs. RHP Jack Flaherty

Cole has been a mixed bag this postseason. He was overall shaky in Game 1 of the ALDS and Game 2 of the ALCS, but also pretty dominant in Game 4 of the ALDS. Ultimately, the Yankees won all three of his starts and he has a 3.31 ERA. He’s only struck out 12 in 16⅓ innings and walked four in 4⅓ last time out. That’s a concern. He hasn’t seen the Dodgers since June 3, 2023. 

Flaherty is capable of dominating or completely falling apart. Just look at the NLCS. He threw seven scoreless innings in Game 1 and then gave up eight runs in three innings in Game 5. One might wonder if maybe it was because the first start was at home and the second was on the road, but he’s had plenty of bad outings in Dodger Stadium, including Game 2 of the NLDS. The Yankees haven’t seen Flaherty since April 28, 2023. 

The play: Over 8.5 runs (-105)

Are they using the juiced balls again? I jest, but really, if they are, who cares? We can profit off of it, just like riding all the overs in the NLCS. We hit some sort of over in every single game there. The Dodgers scored 46 runs in those six games while allowing 26. That’s an average of 12 runs per game. The Yankees’ offense has arguably more firepower than the Mets, too.  

If there’s concern about the layoff before the World Series affecting hitters, consider that the Yankees scored six runs in Game 1 of the ALDS after five days off and the Dodgers scored seven runs in Game 1 of the NLDS after five days off. 

There’s something else to consider on top of everything else in this series. Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium have been among the most homer-friendly parks for the last several years. In 2024, Dodger Stadium had the fourth-best park factor for home runs and if we isolated to day games — remember, these are starting at 5:00 p.m. local time, so there’s remaining daylight for a big part of the game — it is third. 

And since we love run scoring here, let’s grab some fun player props, too. 

The plays: Juan Soto over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-115) and Mookie Betts over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-135)

Soto was 9 for 25 (.360) with two doubles, three homers and six RBI in six games in Dodger Stadium last season. So far in the playoffs this year he’s hitting .333/.439/.667 with two doubles, three homers, eight RBI and six runs. He just went 7 for 19 with three homers in the five-game ALCS. For those curious, last time Soto played in the World Series, at age 19, he was 9 for 27 with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI and six runs. At age 19. He’s Juan Freaking Soto. 

Plus, he sits in the batting order behind a red-hot Gleyber Torres and in front of sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Speaking of cushy lineup spots, Betts follows Ohtani and sits in front of the rest of the Dodgers’ thunder. Though it wasn’t given as much ink and virtual ink as Judge’s playoff struggles, Betts had a highly-publicized playoff slump going for a bit. In his last nine games, however, he’s 13 for 38 (.342) with four doubles, four homers, 12 RBI and nine runs. That’s 34 hits plus runs plus RBI in nine games or an average of 3.77 per game. 

If you’re wondering, Betts is 7 for 17 (.412) in his career against Cole.