The ALCS and NLCS have officially ended, with the New York Yankees defeating the Cleveland Guardians in five games, and the Los Angeles Dodgers taking care of the New York Mets in six games.

Now the Yankees and Dodgers will meet in the World Series for the first time since 1981 in a matchup that should have television ratings soar through the roof.

This will be a battle of two highly marketed teams that have high payrolls and superstar talent all over the field, such as Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, with Judge and Ohtani being two of the very best MLB has to offer.

A World Series matchup of this caliber is great for the sport of baseball, especially if the series goes six or seven games. This is the type of matchup that fans have been waiting a long time for, and it’s finally here.

In order for the Yankees to win this series, it starts with containing the Dodgers’ lineup that has been dominant up and down for the entirety of the postseason, averaging 6.36 runs per game. The Yankees’ pitching staff has done their job for a large majority of the playoffs, as the unit has allowed an ERA of just 3.27.

Even with how good their pitching has been, there is a huge difference in facing the Dodgers’ offense compared to the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians. At a minimum, the Yankees need Gerrit Cole to step up and pitch like an ace along with getting solid outings from Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil.

The Dodgers’ pitching has been equally as lights out, having thrown four shutouts the entire postseason. With how dominant their bullpen has been, the Yankees need to take advantage of their weaker starting rotation.

In their first two series, the Yankees have done a great job of not letting the opposing team’s starters go deep into games and having consistently good at-bats. Presumptive AL MVP Aaron Judge has struggled though, and he will need to have a major factor in the World Series for the Yankees to win. If Judge can have a big series, that’s where the Yankees can find their edge and have an advantage as long as the pitching staff does its job.

Even with Judge’s struggles, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, and Anthony Volpe have all stepped up and made New York’s lineup well-rounded, and as a result, the Dodgers will have to figure out how to slow everybody down. Stanton specifically has looked like the Yankees’ best hitter this entire postseason, posting a 1.179 OPS with five home runs and 11 RBIs.

Even with both teams earning the No. 1 seed in their respective leagues, the Dodgers have had a tougher road to the World Series than the Yankees. Los Angeles had to face the San Diego Padres and New York Mets, two of the hottest teams in baseball in the second half of the season.

The Dodgers starting pitching rotation, which features Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will need to come up big and take some pressure off their bullpen, especially when you consider the fact that they’ve had a few bullpen games throughout the postseason already.

Los Angeles has a loaded bullpen, which has been their main key to success along with their offense. The Dodgers’ bullpen features Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda, Daniel Hudson, and Brent Honeywell. Offensively, besides the star power mentioned earlier, other contributors including Teoscar Hernandez, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman are going to be a major factor within the Dodgers’ lineup.

Both of these ball clubs came into the season with relatively high expectations, and now here they are in October matching up in the Fall Classic.

Los Angeles’ pitching staff combined with their high-powered offense and home-field advantage, should most likely pin them as the favorite to win this series, but the Yankees have handled their opponents well in the playoffs and can force this series to go the distance.

Prediction: Dodgers in 7

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