The pitching plan for Game 5, in short: The big dogs are back.

It's Gerrit Cole vs. Jack Flaherty, the World Series starters in Game 1 returning to the second round in Game 5. The Yankees did what they had to do on Tuesday night, beating the Dodgers in a bullpen game to give Cole – the Californian who now pitches for his childhood favorite team – another chance to throw the ball in this World Series conquer. Now he has to make it count. Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, has a 2.82 ERA in four starts this postseason.

Behind him, the Yankees' bullpen has been heavily taxed in the last three games, as neither Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt nor Luis Gil pitched more than four innings. Reliever Clay Holmes played in every game in this series; Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, Jake Cousins ​​​​and Mark Leiter Jr. have appeared in three of four games. A long start from Cole would be a relief, but manager Aaron Boone won't have the cushion to give anyone, not even his ace, a long leash.

Flaherty, another Californian now pitching for his childhood favorite team, pitched well in Game 1, throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. However, his overall numbers in these playoffs – a 6.10 ERA in four starts – are marred by an explosive start against the Mets in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Dodgers acquired the rental right-hander at the trade deadline to be their guy in the big games this fall, so this is exactly the right spot for him – he'll start alongside Cole and have a chance to win the World Series finish.

Because Tuesday's bullpen game went sideways so early and Daniel Hudson delivered a grand slam in the third inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was able to release the rest of his “A” bullpen that night. That's a luxury the Yankees didn't have. The Dodgers will have the more rested bullpen in Game 5.