For the first time since the Los Angeles Dodgers lifted the Commissioner's Trophy in the Bronx after Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, the Boys in Blue will face off against the New York Yankees over the weekend.
The highly anticipated series starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium and will feature three games between the teams who faced off in last year's Fall Classic. Starting Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Dodgers (34-22) will look to snap out of a disappointing stretch over the last 10 games, where they've gone just 5-5.
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What better time to snap out of a funk than by taking on the Yankees (35-20), who have been the hottest team in baseball. They come to Chavez Ravine on a heater, winning nine of their last 10 games, including a current five-game winning streak.
As with any game featuring these squads, it'll be a star-studded affair. Barring any unexpected changes, both batting lineups could feature three former league MVPs: the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and the Yankees' Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmit and Cody Bellinger (who won the award in 2019 as a Dodger).
Of those players, Ohtani and Judge are making strong cases to repeat from last year's NL and AL MVP performances, respectively.
A storyline to follow over this series is the race for the MLB lead in home runs between those two superstars. As of Friday, Ohtani has the league lead with 20, although Judge is right behind in fourth place with 18. A hot three-game stretch from Judge could give him a lead in that race, so it's something for Dodgers fans to keep an eye on.
Here are the pitching matchups for this weekend's series:
Friday: NYY's Max Fried vs. LAD's Tony GonsolinSaturday: NYY's Will Warren vs. LAD's Landon KnackSunday: NYY's Ryan Yarborough vs. LAD's Yoshinobu YamamotoFried of the Yankees and Yamamoto of the Dodgers are firmly in their respective leagues' Cy Young Award race for best pitcher.
With the way these teams are playing, could we see another matchup in October?
As things stand, the Dodgers and Yankees are both leading their divisions and are poised to return to the MLB Postseason. It's a long season, so there's plenty of time for both teams to climb the standings in their respective leagues (the Yankees are trailing the Detroit Tigers by one game in the AL standings, the Dodgers are in third behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs).
Whether it's a World Series preview or not, it's hard to imagine Dodger Stadium as anything other than rocking for all three games. The opener starts at 7:30 p.m. PST, and can be seen on Apple TV+.
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