The Dodgers will try to take a two games to none lead when they face the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for the Dodgers against left-hander Carlos Rodón.
Yamamoto is 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in three postseason starts. The Dodgers have won all three of his postseason starts.
The 26-year-old Yamamoto was 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his first regular season in Major League Baseball, which was interrupted by a stint on the injured list and a rehabilitation assignment to their Triple-A Oklahoma City Pacific Coast League affiliate from June 16 to Sept. 10 because of triceps tightness.
The Dodgers were 11-7 in his 18 starts.
Yamamoto pitched seven scoreless innings in his only appearance against the Yankees, allowing two hits, striking out seven, walking two and not figuring in the decision in the 2-1 victory June 7 at Yankee Stadium.
"I think the experience from June will benefit me a little bit, but this is the World Series and the lineup might also probably be different from June," Yamamoto said through an interpreter during a news conference before Game 1 Friday. "I'm going to just study and get myself ready for the lineup tomorrow."
Rodón is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA is three postseason starts. The Yankees have won two of his three postseason starts.
The 31-year-old Rodón was 16-9 in the regular season with a 3.96 ERA, tying for second in the American League in victories behind Detroit's 18-game winner Tarik Skubal and tying for third in all of MLB behind and Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale who also won 18.
The Yankees were 19-13 in Rondon's 32 starts.
Rondon is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts against the Dodgers, who he will be facing for the first time since June 21, 2022, when he did not figure in the decision in the San Francisco Giants' 9-6 loss at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 1-for-3 with a home run, 3 RBIs and three walks against Rondon.
ESPN's matchup predictor gives the Dodgers a 62% chance of winning, the Yankees a 38% chance.
Retired Dodger outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier will throw ceremonial first pitches.
Pearle Peterson, a 19-year-old from Washington, will sing the national anthem ahead of Game 2 of the Fall Classic for the second consecutive year. The 2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of America's National Youth Talent Performer was originally set on attending law school but last year's World Series performance inspired her to pursue a musical career.
Los Angeles native Ice Cube will perform special World Series editions of his chart-topping hits "Bow Down" and "It Was a Good Day."
Game Two will celebrate youth baseball and softball. MLB has invited more than 100 youths who participate in various MLB-led and localized community programs all around the nation who will be recognized during pregame ceremonies.
The 5:08 p.m. game will be televised by Fox.
Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history Friday night to give the Dodgers a 6-3 victory in Game 1.
Freeman hit the first pitch he saw from Nestor Cortes 423 feet over the right field fence with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning for the second two-out walk-off home run while trailing in a World Series game, joining Kirk Gibson's two-run home run for the Dodgers in a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, according to Major League Baseball researcher Sarah Langs.
"Those are the kind of things when you're 5 years old with your two older brothers and you're playing Wiffle ball in the backyard, those are the scenarios you dream about, two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game," Freeman said.
"For it to actually happen and get a home run and walk it off to give us a 1-0 lead, that's as good as it gets right there."
Dodger manager Dave Roberts said Freeman's grand slam "might be the greatest baseball moment I've ever witnessed, and I've witnessed some great ones."
"As the inning started, you're just trying to think about getting Shohei to the plate," Roberts said. "Once they decided to walk Mookie, I just felt good with Freddie at the plate. And just that swing, you knew it was gone."
Cortes was making his first appearance since Sept. 18 after suffering a left elbow flexor strain.
"The reality is he's been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he's gotten ready for this," New York manager Aaron Boone said.
Cortes relieved Jake Cousins (0-1) after Tommy Edman's infield single gave the Dodgers runners on first and second with one out.
Ohtani, the first batter to face Cortes, fouled out to left fielder Alex Verdugo, whose momentum carried him over the short fence and into the stands. Because he left the field of play, Chris Taylor, a pinch-runner for Gavin Lux, who walked, advanced to third and Edman to second.
Mookie Betts was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Boone said he intentionally walked Betts to get the "left-on-left matchup."
The Dodgers were hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position before Freeman's home run.
The Yankees had taken the lead in the top of the 10th. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled with one out, stole second and third and scored when Alex Volpe grounded into a force out.
Chisholm also stole second base in the sixth inning. His three stolen bases tied for the most in a World Series game, a feat accomplished six other times.
The Dodgers tied the score in the eighth. Ohtani doubled with one out, advanced to third when second baseman Gleyber Torres was charged with an error when right fielder Juan Soto's throw went off his glove and scored on Betts' sacrifice fly.
This was the fourth time a team a team rallied back to tie or take the lead multiple times in the eighth inning-or later in a World Series game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Major League Baseball's official statistician.
The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout Giancarlo Stanton hit Jack Flaherty's 1-2, one-out knuckle curve 412 feet over the left field fence for a two-run home run, driving in Soto, who singled leading off the inning.
Stanton has homered in four consecutive games.
In the first World Series Game 1 that was scoreless through at least four innings since 2000 when the Yankees faced the New York Mets, the Dodgers opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth. Kiké Hernandez tripled with one out and scored on Will Smith's sacrifice fly.
Blake Treinen (1-0), the last of six Dodger pitchers, was credited with the victory, allowing one run and one hit in 1 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.
Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers' starting pitcher, allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings, struck out six and walked one, seven days after allowing eight runs in three innings in the Dodgers' 12-6 loss to the New York Mets Friday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field in New York Oct. 18.
Yankee starter Gerrit Cole allowed one run and four hits in six innings, striking out four and not walking a batter.
The Dodgers were out-hit 10-7. The Yankees left 11 runners on base, the Dodgers four. Both teams were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series in 75 of the previous 119 Series, 63%.
The crowd announced at 52,394 included Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and her songwriter-producer brother Finneas, entertainer John Legend, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson.
Before pregame ceremonies began, a special tribute video for Fernando Valenzuela was played on the DodgerVision video boards. A mariachi performance featuring Julian Torres y Deyra Barrera was held in the Left Field Pavilion to honor Valenzuela, who died Tuesday night at age 63.
Valenzuela's No. 34 was stenciled onto the mound. A No. 34 patch will be worn on all Dodger jerseys for the duration of the 2024 World Series in honor of Valenzuela. A printed commemorative mural adorns the left field wall of Dodger Stadium, adjacent to the left field stadium entrance gates.
A moment of silence was observed prior to the game.