LOS ANGELES — The weight of the world might not be on Jack Flaherty, but the weight of Los Angeles sure was Friday night as his hometown team opened the World Series at Dodger Stadium. He walked into the stadium wearing a Fernando Valenzuela jersey and did his best to channel “El Toro.” The right-hander pitched effectively with all of that weight in Game 1 of the Hollywood-Broadway matchup, shutting out the Yankees for the first five innings. It was, for lack of a better term, a dream come true. “Walking out was incredible, even just to the bullpen, feeling the city behind you,” Flaherty said. “That’s what this city does. They’re going to be there. They’re going to show up. They’re going to be loud. They’re going to be into the game.” But it almost became a nightmare when another Valley kid knocked him out of Game 1: Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton. In the end, Freddie Freeman, another Southern California native, played the role of the hero by hitting a walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the series. But before the Dodgers’ comeback, Flaherty very nearly played that role. The Dodgers were up 1-0 after five innings with Flaherty and Gerrit Cole, another Orange County native, dueling. Flaherty had allowed only three hits coming into the sixth inning and Juan Soto made it four when he led off with a single up the center. Aaron Judge struck out to bring up Stanton, who also grew up in the nearby San Fernando Valley as a fan of the Dodgers. “It was an incredible atmosphere, unbelievable setting,” Flaherty said. “That dude over there [Cole], he’s a stud.” Flaherty went to Harvard-Westlake High School and was part of a vaunted rotation that included Max Fried and Lucas Giolito. Stanton went to his rival high school just over Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, Notre Dame. They never crossed paths with Stanton seven years older, but they met on a collision course of sorts Friday night. Flaherty threw him a knuckle curve on 1-2. It was a good pitch that broke to the inside corner on the right-handed Stanton, one plenty of other hitters would have missed. But Stanton reached down below the zone and golfed it. He sent it so high it looked as though it would clear the top of the left field foul pole. But then it kept carrying. Stanton hit it 412 feet into the left field stands to pull the Yankees ahead of the Dodgers, 2-1. “It’s just one pitch at a time. Made a mistake and Giancarlo puts a good swing on the ball, which is what he’s done all postseason and throughout his entire career, really,” Flaherty said. “So you’d like that one back, but you’ve got to go out and get ready for the next one.” Stanton has done some amazing things in the ballpark of his childhood, including hitting a 478-foot home run as a member of the Miami Marlins that is still commemorated with a plaque. He owns a lifetime OPS over 1.000 at Chavez Ravine and he’s coming into the series hot, hitting four home runs in his last four postseason games and six total this month. If the Yankees are going to be able to out-slug the Dodgers, Stanton could be huge. But for the Dodgers, Flaherty could be huge. The right-handed starter that was acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers to provide pitching depth for the Dodgers became more than depth when the Los Angeles pitching staff began to fall like dominoes. The hometown kid who first attended a game at Chavez Ravine at only six months old has been tasked with starting the last two series for the Dodgers. In the absence of the other starters, it means he has to pitch twice in a best-of-seven series and pitch deep into those two games. The Dodgers are heavily reliant on their bullpen without Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Stone and Tony Gonsolin. Flaherty was removed from the game after the homer by Stanton. The bullpen was rested after four days off and the Dodgers were going to have to use it aggressively after tying the game in the eighth and going into extra innings. By holding the Yankees to only two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, Flaherty gave the team what they needed to be able to come back. He struck out six, getting Aaron Judge three times. “Aaron is an MVP. He’s going to win it this year, and you’ve got to be careful,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Even when we went to walk [Juan] Soto to get to Judge, that never feels good. You’ve got to be careful. You’ve got to be careful of those guys. If they make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay. Yeah, Jack pitched him really well tonight.” While Freeman was the hometown hero in Game 1, Flaherty will have another chance later in the series. “Adjustments were made and now we’ve got to go make a couple more, just review today and go over it,” Flaherty said. “Take the good, and then just take it pitch by pitch on the next one.”