Confirmed deal : Yankees announce World Series Game 1 lineup that will take the field in Los Angeles

After a long week off, we’ve finally arrived at Game 1 of the World Series. In just a few hours, Gerrit Cole will square off with Jack Flaherty, and the Yankees and Dodgers will engage in their first championship bout in 43 years.

The Yankees announced their World Series roster earlier this afternoon, and now, they’ve announced the lineup that will take the field in Los Angeles:

2B Gleyber Torres
RF Juan Soto
CF Aaron Judge
DH Giancarlo Stanton
3B Jazz Chisholm Jr.
1B Anthony Rizzo
SS Anthony Volpe
C Austin Wells
LF Alex Verdugo

This is in fact the exact same lineup the club ran out there for their clinching win in Game 5 of the ALCS. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Aaron Boone keeps the potent Aaron Judge/Giancarlo Stanton 3/4 pairing intact, giving Dodgers pitchers a hellish first four batters to navigate every time the lineup turns over. Also of note is LA’s relative lack of lefty pitchers, which makes it easier for the Yankees to stack left-handed hitters in the back half of their lineup.

As terrifying as the top of that order looks, there are still questions about the rest of the lineup. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been cold for weeks now, as has Austin Wells. Both lefty swingers will hope to ignite against the right-heavy Dodger staff. Anthony Rizzo is still recovering from breaking two fingers last month, but he at least did hit well in the ALCS. Alex Verdugo has a sub-.600 OPS this October, but remains the team’s starting choice in left field.

With how good the Yankees’ stars are, they really don’t need excellence from top to bottom in their lineup. They just need an extra bit of production here or there on nights when their top guns don’t produce. If we’re lucky, someone from the Chisholm/Wells/Verdugo slump brigade will break out (along with Judge, who was quiet again at the end of the ALCS), and the Yankees can cruise to a Game 1 win.