LOS ANGELES — You couldn’t get any bigger than New York vs. L.A. to decide who would win the World Series. Two iconic franchises, both with a century of history that provided the foundation for the sport itself.
The Yankees and Dodgers now meet, beginning Friday, for the first time since L.A. defeated New York in the World Series and there will be plenty of intrigue and things to watch throughout the three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Here are the top five storylines to watch this weekend:
1. Bad blood
No, we’re not talking about the Taylor Swift song.
Since the World Series ended, there’s been no love lost between the two clubs. Some members of the Dodgers took a post-World Series victory lap, one that was totally within the right of the victors. That victory lap included a few shots at the Yankees, notably from Chris Taylor, who said the Yankees “s*** down their leg,” a comment he didn’t back down from this week; he’s now a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
The Yankees didn’t take kindly to those kind of barbs.
“The reality is we didn’t play our best in the series and they won, so they had that right to say whatever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters during spring training. “Hopefully, we’re in that position next year and handle things with a little more class.”
Seven months later, it’s clear the Yankees haven’t let go of those words. And while it might not mean somebody being thrown at intentionally or on-field altercation, the tension is there. Now we’ll see if it manifests into good old-fashioned spicy baseball.
Aaron Judge and the Yankees’ disastrous fifth inning of the World Series became a punch line for Dodgers fans. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Daniel Shirey via Getty Images)
2. Judge vs. Ohtani
There’s nothing better than the two best players in the world going head-to-head again. And unlike the postseason, when both reigning MVPs struggled, both Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani come into this series as the frontrunners for AL and NL MVP again. Judge has been a man among boys to start the 2025 season. The Yankees captain is leading MLB in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, runs and OPS.
While not at Judge’s level, Ohtani has found his stroke after a slow start and his power has stood out significantly. The three-time MVP leads MLB with 20 homers and is second behind Judge in OPS.
Judge has a 1.575 career OPS in 10 games against the Dodgers with eight homers. Ohtani has a .899 career OPS in 26 games against the Bronx Bombers with nine home runs.
3. Max Fried vs. the Dodgers
In a world without Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, we’d be talking about Fried being the best pitcher in the American League. Fried has taken the role of ace for the Yankees and run with it in his first season in pinstripes, something that New York needed after Gerrit Cole’s season-ending Tommy John surgery. The Yankees southpaw leads MLB with a 1.29 ERA and is 7-0 going into Friday’s start against the Dodgers.
Fried has been tough on every team he’s faced in his 11 starts this season, but the Dodgers offer a unique challenge. Los Angeles is one of baseball’s best teams vs. left-handed pitching with Ohtani, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández each with an OPS over .900 against lefties.
If Fried weathers the storm from the Dodgers’ lineup in Game 1, it will set the tone for the Bronx Bombers in what should be a very competitive series.
4. Measuring stick series
The Yankees (35-20) are clearly one of the two dominant teams in a weaker American League, but they’ve started to play their best baseball of the season with the second-best record in the AL, trailing only Detroit (37-20).
The Dodgers (34-22) on the other hand haven’t exactly been the dominant team that many believed they would be, but they still lead the NL West and enter Friday with the third-best record in the National League.
The Yankees and Dodgers have expectations of both returning to the postseason and making deep playoff runs again, but it’s also a good test to see where they stack up against MLB’s best.
New York has thrived so far this season against good teams and are 21-13 vs. clubs over .500. Los Angeles hasn’t played nearly as many good teams, but are just 10-9 in games against teams over .500.
5. Baseball is on national sports stage
Fans may sometimes be bothered by teams like the Yankees or Dodgers getting national attention, but the reality is that baseball being front and center, regardless of the teams playing, is good for the sport. Last year’s World Series brought in plenty of eyes as the country’s two biggest markets clashed. And the East Coast vs. West Coast World Series brought plenty of attention from a global perspective, not just national.
One of the biggest complaints about baseball is its inability to market and leverage its superstars like the other pro sports. This series offers a layup for the league and its brand partners. Not only have all three games been hyped for weeks, they’re also all exclusively televised national games, which shows how important they are to MLB and networks.
In the grand scheme of a season, it’s still just three regular-season games that count the same as the others. But you can certainly feel the importance for the sport itself.
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