NEW YORK — Jack Flaherty experienced another early exit during a crucial postseason game, yielding four runs and managing to secure just four outs as the New York Yankees quickly took control against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night.

The Dodgers entered the match with a 3-1 lead in the Series. The 29-year-old right-handed pitcher walked Juan Soto with one out in the first inning. Aaron Judge then capitalized on Flaherty’s initial pitch, smashing a two-run homer into the right-field seats. Flaherty briefly turned, displaying a pained expression, before acknowledging the home run was inevitable.

Just four pitches later, Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed suit by sending a fastball over the right-field fence, which Flaherty observed land. The Yankees’ momentum continued as Anthony Volpe doubled to start the second inning, subsequently scoring, prompting manager Dave Roberts to call in Anthony Banda after Flaherty faced merely nine batters.

In total, Flaherty managed only 35 pitches on the mound. This performance followed a game where the Dodgers had previously relied on relievers Ben Casparius, Daniel Hudson, Landon Knack, and Brent Honeywell, leading to an 11-4 defeat.

Due to injuries affecting key pitchers such as Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, and Emmet Sheehan, Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler are the only starting pitchers available on the Dodgers’ World Series roster.

Despite the earlier deficit in Game 4, where the Dodgers were down 5-4 in the sixth inning, Manager Dave Roberts had strategically held back his best relievers for Game 5. Reflecting on his decisions, Roberts stated Wednesday afternoon that he would not have acted differently with a day to contemplate the situation.

Previously, Flaherty’s outing had seen him concede eight runs, eight hits, and four walks in three innings during a 12-6 loss against the New York Mets in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series. According to Roberts, Flaherty was still recovering from an illness on the day of that performance.

Flaherty did bounce back in the World Series opener, allowing only two runs over 5 1/3 innings, contributing to a Dodgers victory that stretched into 10 innings.