Jack Flaherty puts Dodgers in early Game 5 hole with brutal start vs. Yankees

When Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rested his high-leverage relievers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the decision paid off. By essentially punting away the game, the Dodgers clinched the series with fresh arms in Game 6.

Having a three-game lead in the World Series against the New York Yankees afforded Roberts the luxury of employing the same strategy, and he used it again. The Dodgers punted away Game 4, and New York took advantage by pulling out an 11-4 victory.

The hope was that the fresh arms would provide Los Angeles with a better opportunity to bury the Yankees and close out the championship in Game 5. To do so, the Dodgers were hoping to rely heavily on pitcher Jack Flaherty in the opening stanzas of the game.

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Jack Flaherty falls flat with just four outs in World Series Game 5

Instead, Flaherty fell flat. In the bottom of the first inning, Yankees star Aaron Judge broke out of slump with a two-run blast to right center field. Not long after, Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. registered his own home run to right center field and gave New York an early 3-0 lead.

The barrage continued in the bottom of the second inning as Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo knocked a line drive base hit to bring shortstop Anthony Volpe home. At that point, Roberts had seen enough. All four hits were right over the plate, with two four-seam fastballs, one knuckle curve and one slider, per Baseball Savant.

Flaherty became the first starter in World Series history to give up four-plus runs and two-plus home runs while lasting less than 2.0 innings, per OptaSTATS. He also became the first starter since the San Francisco Giants' Jake Peavy in 2014 to collect no more than four outs in a World Series game.

With Flaherty walking off the mound after just four outs, it became apparent that the Dodgers' bullpen would be in for a long night. After all, there were still 7 2/3 innings left to fill.

The last nine teams to fall into a three-game deficit were all swept in four games, and only four teams in MLB history have managed to force a Game 5. Roberts ensured the Yankees managed to join that club. Now, Flaherty set the Yankees up to make history: No team has forced a Game 6 after falling into a three-game deficit in the World Series.

Both Roberts and Flaherty will hope the Dodgers bullpen can save them from the scrutiny that awaits if New York manages to pull out a second consecutive win. Fortunately for the Dodgers, there is plenty of game left, the Yankees defense has been atrocious, and Los Angeles still has Freddie Freeman on their side.

The first baseman continued his historic World Series performance with a base hit to score Tommy Edman and Will Smith. Freeman now has 12 RBI in the series, tying Bobby Richardson for the most in a single World Series.