LOS ANGELES -- Clarke Schmidt will have the ball when the World Series shifts venues back to New York for Game 3 on Monday night, and his dad has already received a starting nod during this Fall Classic.

Dwight Schmidt, a veteran Delta Air Lines pilot of more than 20 years, was selected to be at the controls for one of the team¡¯s charter flights to the West Coast. The elder Schmidt guided the friends and family plane from Newark, N.J., to Burbank, Calif.

¡°Everybody has been reaching out about what a good pilot he was,¡± Schmidt said on Thursday, as the Yankees and Dodgers worked out at Dodger Stadium. ¡°I¡¯m glad everybody had a good time and made it here safely.¡±

Schmidt said that his whole family was planning to travel to California for the first two World Series games, so when Delta offered the surprise assignment, it ¡°actually worked out perfect -- he flew out here, and he¡¯s going to fly them back to New York as well.¡±

• Yankees-Dodgers World Series Game 1 FAQ

In August 2023, Dwight Schmidt had the opportunity to fly the Yankees¡¯ charter jet to Tampa, Fla., for a series against the Rays.

¡°It¡¯s just different when you¡¯re able to do something in my profession to help them out in their profession,¡± Dwight Schmidt said then. ¡°It was a magical experience. It was absolutely one of the most fun things I¡¯ve gotten to do.¡±

Schmidt will follow Carlos Rodón in the Yankees¡¯ rotation, as the left-hander said he has been selected to start Saturday¡¯s World Series Game 2.

¡°It¡¯s something that I¡¯ve dreamed of since I was a kid, pretending in the backyard,¡± Rod¨®n said. ¡°I¡¯ve pitched in Dodger Stadium before. I think it¡¯s going to be similar to being in a Giants jersey; a little louder, obviously a lot more on the games. I think it¡¯s going to be a fun atmosphere.¡±

Heart of change
Yes, Tommy Kahnle will eventually throw a pitch that isn¡¯t a changeup -- or at least, so he says. The right-hander has thrown 48 consecutive changeups dating back to Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against the Guardians.

¡°I would say it¡¯s just being in the moment and sticking with my strength,¡± Kahnle said. ¡°If you¡¯re going to beat me, you¡¯re going to have to beat me with the changeup.¡±

The formula has worked. Kahnle tossed four scoreless innings over three appearances in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the ALCS, limiting Cleveland to three hits. He said that he only once shook off a suggestion, which was for a slider.

¡°I knew it was a lot, because I was thinking to myself, ¡®I don¡¯t think I threw a single fastball in any of those outings.¡¯ But what are you going to do?¡± Kahnle said. ¡°It¡¯s always going to be my bread and butter. I know I¡¯m going to have to make some adjustments, because I think these guys know me very well, and I know them very well.¡±

Expectations realized
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has not been shy about his belief in this Yankees club, forecasting that they would advance past the Royals and Guardians. It hardly made him a popular figure in opposing parks, especially Kansas City, but he has been proven correct.

¡°This is what I expected, I¡¯m not going to lie,¡± Chisholm said. ¡°Coming to this team [in July], coming behind [Aaron] Judge and [Giancarlo] Stanton and these guys, I got here and they said they wanted to go to the World Series. I¡¯m like, ¡®I¡¯m willing to help you guys, let¡¯s do it.¡¯ We¡¯re here now, and so now we¡¯ve just got to finish the job.¡±

Chisholm recounted a conversation he had with Judge early in his Yankees tenure that outlined the expectations.

¡°This is what we¡¯ve all been talking about since the first day I got here,¡± Chisholm said. ¡°I talked to Judge and he was just like, ¡®Bro, I can¡¯t wait until you go out there and help us win the World Series.¡¯ ¡­ That¡¯s what I like about these guys. We¡¯re all in to win the World Series. We¡¯re not here to go win a pennant and not here to get to the World Series. We¡¯re all here to win it.¡±