Sometimes, it really does help to have all that money.

The big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will meet in a matchup of World Series heavyweights starting Friday at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees ranked second in payroll this season at $311 million and the Dodgers were third at $266 million, according to MLB’s latest projections.

The two franchises are among the sport’s most successful. The Yankees just won their 41st American League pennant and the Dodgers their 25th National League championship.

New York is seeking its 28th World Series title but first since 2009, the Dodgers their eighth overall and second in a five-year span.

Here’s a look at some things to watch as the series begins Friday:

New York’s Aaron Judge celebrates after Game 5 of the baseball ALCSs against the Cleveland Guardians Saturday in Cleveland. Godofredo A. Vásquez /Associated Press

OHTANI VS. JUDGE

The series pits two of this generation’s great sluggers against one another: Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani vs. New York’s Aaron Judge.

Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a regular season, reaching the milestone Sept. 19 with his second of three homers against the Marlins. He’s largely kept up that production in the playoffs, batting .286 with three homers and 10 RBI.

Judge had another mammoth regular season, leading the big leagues with 58 homers. He also hit .322 with 144 RBI. The 32-year-old has been a little quiet in these playoffs, batting .161 with two homers and six RBI.

UNSUNG HEROES

The Ohtani vs. Judge matchup is sure to command the most attention, but both teams have other players who have starred so far in October.

Veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton is having an excellent postseason, batting .294 with five homers and 11 RBI, earning the AL Championship Series MVP. The 34-year-old has struggled with injuries and inconsistency since joining the Yankees in 2018 but could cement his spot in franchise lore with a big World Series.

The Dodgers are pushing through October with an unlikely middle-of-the-order threat – the 5-foot-10, 193-pound Tommy Edman.

Edman was acquired at the trade deadline from the Cardinals and has been invaluable this postseason. He’s batting .341 and clubbed a two-run homer in the team’s NLCS-clinching win over the Mets on Sunday. He won the NLCS MVP.

HOT TICKET

It’ll take deep pockets to get to this year’s Fall Classic – for the teams, and for fans.

The lowest asking ticket price on the resale market to any game has hovered in the $1,200-$1,300, range according to Stubhub.

StubHub said Monday that sales outpaced last year’s final figures and are four times higher than the pace of the 2022 Series. Sales for Games 3-5 in New York are 40% higher than for Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 in Los Angeles.

YANKEES: Nestor Cortes expects to be on the Yankees’ World Series roster against thes Dodgers after throwing two innings of batting practice and pronouncing himself recovered from an elbow injury that has sidelined him for more than a month.

Cortes said he plans to pitch even if it risks a long-term injury.

“If I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it,” he said.

Cortes threw 28 pitches on Tuesday, sitting down for a half-inning when Tim Mayza faced hitters. Cortes he felt normal levels of soreness said an hour later.

Cortes has been sidelined since Sept. 18 because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. The 29-year-old left-hander jogged to the mound from the bullpen, his likely Series role.

“My expectation is to be on, for sure, or at least be considered,” he said.

The Yankees are weighing whether to carry 13 pitchers on their 26-man World Series roster. New York had 12 pitchers and 14 position players for the AL Championship Series against Cleveland after going with 11 pitchers and 15 position players for the Division Series versus Kansas City. The World Series roster must be submitted to Major League Baseball on Friday, about 10 hours before Game 1.

“If he’s going to be added, we’d probably need to be at 13,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “It would be hard to add him with any type of restrictions that he has and take a pitcher off. We definitely can’t run him like some of the other guys in the ‘pen.”

Cortes made one relief outing during the season, his first since 2021. He followed Clarke Schmidt and threw 4 1/3 innings in a 2-0 win at the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 7.

Los Angeles features left-handed-hitting Ohtani leading off, right-handed Mookie Betts batting second and left-handed Freddie Freeman hitting third, though Freeman’s status is unclear because of an ankle injury.

“There’s going to be a time where either Game 1 or Game 2, where there’s going to be a lefty role for me or a left lane,” Cortes said. “If I throw four to eight pitches, I might be ready to go the next day.”

Ohtani is 2 for 12 against Cortes with a pair of singles, an RBI and one strikeout.

“I never throw change-ups to lefties, but I’ll probably throw change-ups in this circumstances,” Cortes said. “I’m going to have to bring out the kitchen sink on him and not only him, but all the other lefties that they have in that lineup.”

Yankees GM Brian Cashman was initially dubious of Cortes returning. Cortes lobbied to be included on the roster in the Division Series and League Championship Series.

“The conversations were really clear,” Cortes said. “Cash was no from the get-go and then he obviously knows that I want to pitch in this, even in the DS, starting from the DS, but that wasn’t realistic.”