In the preseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the clear-cut favorites to win the World Series. By adding Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a team that won 100 games last year, the Dodgers entered the season with the potential to be an all-time great team.

The regular season, however, presented plenty of challenges — mainly in the form of injuries. The Dodgers said off the bat that Ohtani wouldn't pitch this year, and anything they got out of Clayton Kershaw was always going to be a bonus.

But Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, Dustin May, and River Ryan all went down, weakening their vaunted pitching staff. Mookie Betts also missed two months with a broken hand.

Put together, it's a wonder the Dodgers were still able to win 98 games. But Los Angeles has hit its stride in October, erasing a 2-1 series deficit against the San Diego Padres in the Division Series by throwing shutouts in games 4 and 5.

Los Angeles then threw another to win the first game of the NLCS against the New York Mets. The Dodgers finally dispatched of the Mets in six games, setting up their return to the Fall Classic.

Don't go betting the house on Dave Roberts' club just yet, though. Yes, Los Angeles is a slight favorite over the New York Yankees, but the Bronx Bombers present a formidable opponent. They are also equipped to exploit the Dodgers' weaknesses.

The Yankees will be able to wear down the Dodgers' starting pitchers

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the first inning during game four of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field.
John Jones-Imagn Images

If the Yankees' fatal flaw comes in their bullpen, the Dodgers' may be in their rotation. That's no knock against midseason acquisition Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto, or Walker Buehler. But the Dodgers have been going with a three-man rotation plus a bullpen game throughout the playoffs, and it looks like the World Series will be no different.

While the Yankees' offense hasn't exactly exploded in the postseason, Gleyber Torres' emergence as the ideal leadoff man has made the top half of the New York lineup torturous to opponents. Torres, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton can all hit, but they can also work counts.

The Yankees have a 13.9% walk rate in the postseason, which can spell trouble for the Dodgers. Those walks not only create traffic on the bases, making an already great home run-hitting team even more dangerous, they also work starters' pitch counts up.

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The hook is always quicker in October. Torres has reached base in the first inning in eight of the Yankees' nine playoff games. Soto has done it seven times. So what happens if, say, Buehler runs into early trouble in Game 3, allowing those two to reach and Judge or Stanton to go deep?

Then the lineup turns over in the second or third inning, and it all starts again? Will Roberts go to his bullpen early, knowing he's going with a bullpen game the next day — with a possible Game 5 the day after that? The Yankees have the ability to drive opposing managers crazy simply by being patient.

Of course, it's foolish to even have this conversation without acknowledging the other side of it: The Dodgers can just as easily do the same to the Yankees. The two teams have averaged roughly the same amount of walks per game, and Los Angeles has been even more prolific with the home-run ball.

The Yankees have four starting pitchers, but they entered the playoffs holding their bullpen together with duct tape and chewing gum. It has worked so far, but their opponents have been two teams from the AL Central. Next, it gets real.

The Dodgers also have a southpaw problem

The Dodgers carried 13 pitchers on their NLCS roster and 12 were right-handed. Expect the talking heads to make a lot of that in the coming days. The Yankees don't hit lefties well (.235 BA vs. LHP compared to .253 vs. RHP). Their mediocre .721 OPS against southpaws is only buoyed by a 12% walk rate — a little higher than they experience against righties.

Anthony Banda was the Dodgers' lone lefty on their NLCS roster, and he's been solid in the playoffs, allowing just one run in six appearances.

There's a wildcard here. The Dodgers left southpaw Alex Vesia off the NLCS roster as he dealt with an intercostal injury. But if he is able to return, he'd bring with him a 1.76 season ERA and an opponents' batting average of .148. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the NLCS that he would be an option for the World Series roster.