Despite all the injuries to their pitching staffs, both teams keep winning. New York (35-20) has the third-best record in baseball behind the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles (34-22) is right on their heels.
“It feels like the Dodgers haven’t really had a great year,” Westgate SuperBook senior baseball trader Randy Blum told FOX Sports. “Then you look up, and they’re a top-three team in baseball that’s sitting in first place. It speaks to the depth of their team and their ability to sustain injuries.
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“The offense is still very legit,” Blum continued. “They’re winning some shootouts. Ohtani has just been amazing. I’m double the market on him for MVP because he’s going to start pitching soon. The guy has the best numbers of any player in the National League, and now he’s going to pitch.
“They’re also going to get some of these pitchers back from what I’ve been reading from the beat writers. We’ll probably never see ‘em at 100 percent, but reinforcements are on the way. They’re winning without these guys and if they get even half of them back, they’re still the team to beat.”
As for the Bronx Bombers, they’re doing exactly that — bombing the baseball. They currently lead the Majors with 88 home runs and Judge is on pace to have one of the greatest all-around seasons of all time.
He’s slashing an insane .391/.739/1.227 with 18 homers, 51 runs and 47 RBIs and the advanced metrics say he’s already worth over four wins.
Judge is as high as -10000 to win the AL MVP.
“As good as Judge has been, I’m more impressed by the pitching staff,” Blum admitted. “It’s so unexpected. This was a huge concern in Spring Training after [Gerrit] Cole got hurt and Luis Gil got hurt. This is not what was expected.
“[Carlos] Rodon has performed in the past, but even he’s having his best year as a Yankee. They’re piecing the rest of the rotation together.”
But what about Judge?
“I don’t want to sell Judge short,” Blum said. “He’s been incredible. He should win another MVP, which should be his fourth. I thought he got robbed his rookie season the year they gave it to Jose Altuve.”
Assuming Judge finishes the season strong, he’ll win his third MVP award in pinstripes to draw even with Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.
He’ll quite literally be one of the greatest Yankees of all-time.
“He’s obviously got to sustain it for a few years,” Blum said. “Barring injuries or a very steep decline, there’s no reason he can’t keep it up. And the power will always be there because he’s such a large individual.”
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and the BetMGM Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.
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NBA playoff odds — and some futures bets that go with them — are closing in on crunch time. And let’s not forget Stanley Cup odds, too, with both leagues heading toward their championship series.
One DraftKings Sportsbook customer certainly hasn’t forgotten. How’d you like to be in his spot, holding a $13 bet that could become more than a quarter of a million dollars?
Read on for more on that wager, along with a $400,000-plus bet that hit, some fun parlay payouts and other notable bets and major wagers tied to NBA and NHL playoffs betting.
Let It Ride?
At some point before last year’s WNBA Finals, a DraftKings Sportsbook customer put all of 13 bucks on a five-team championship futures parlay:
The first three legs are in. And as fate would have it, the last two teams are now favored to win their respective championships.
Oklahoma City will be a solid series favorite against the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks. Edmonton is a modest series favorite vs. Florida in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final, won by the Panthers.
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The odds on that five-leg parlay: +2082680, or in easier-to-digest form, about 20827/1. If OKC and Edmonton get there, the customer turns $13 into a whopping $270,761.40.
He also has a cash-out option, right now sitting at almost $75,000.
Decisions, decisions!
Big Believer
In Thursday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, the New York Knicks were on the brink of elimination, trailing 3-1. But among those confident in Jalen Brunson & Co. was a DraftKings customer with a huge bankroll.
The bettor put $418,200 on Knicks -4 (-112), banking on the home favorite to win and cover.
New York did that and then some, posting a 111-94 rout to extend the series.
So the customer pocketed a massive win of $373,392.86 (total payout $791,592.86). Don’t forget that 86 cents.
Not a bad night’s work for that high-roller.
Parlay Partay
Let’s bring this back to something more relatable to the average sports bettor.
In Knicks-Pacers Game 4 on Tuesday night, a FanDuel Sportsbook customer put together a six-leg single-game parlay heavy on Tyrese Haliburton props:
Haliburton filled up the box score with 32 points — including five 3-pointers — 15 assists and 12 rebounds. The Pacers won 130-121 to fulfill the moneyline leg of the parlay, and the game sailed over the total of 219.5 points.
And that’s how you turn $25 into $8,690.
I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie
As the NBA playoffs point toward the NBA Finals, some big futures bets either cashed or moved a step closer to doing so. At DraftKings Sportsbook, one customer is all over Oklahoma City.
On April 28, the bettor put $100,000 on Thunder -175 to win the Western Conference. That wager cashed on Wednesday night when OKC eliminated Minnesota 4-1 in the best-of-7 series. The customer profited $57,140 (total payout $157,140).
But wait. There’s more.
The same customer has two major wagers on the Thunder to win the NBA Finals:
• $105,000 Thunder +160
• $100,000 Thunder +130
The first bet would profit $168,000 and the second $130,000 if the Thunder — now -750 favorites to win the championship — claim their first NBA title.
That’s a $298,000 potential profit and a total payout of $503,000.
In Thursday’s Pacers-Knicks Game 5, Caesars Sportsbook saw two big plays, one a winner and one a loser:
• $105,000 Under 223.5 points (-105). A 111-94 New York win, for 205 points, was a victory for the bettor, too, who profited $100,000 (total payout $205,000).
• $110,000 Pacers +4.5. Indiana fell flat at Madison Square Garden, making that wager a big donation to the house.
A hopefully helpful reminder: These big bets are often made by high-roller customers who can absorb such a loss. Regular Joes and Janes like you and me cannot.
And as for those parlays? Well, as they say: Parlays are a bookmaker’s best friend. So keep it reasonable. Wager responsibly. Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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One of the early contenders for the National League Cy Young Award stands under 6 feet tall. He defies convention, not only with his size but also with the way he eschews traditional training methods in favor of more unorthodox routines.
In the time between Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s starts, every throw is calculated, every move treated with precision and care. He favors flexibility, movement and coordination over brawn.
You won’t find him lifting weights, but you might see him on the warning track launching javelins through the sky or treating long-toss sessions as if he were on the mound finishing off a complete-game shutout.
That hasn’t happened yet through 29 career big-league starts, though he’s getting increasingly closer.
This month alone, Yamamoto has taken one no-hitter into the sixth inning and another into the seventh. He has gone at least six innings in seven of his last nine starts, amassed the lowest ERA among qualified National League starters and become the steadying force a beleaguered rotation needs him to be.
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He is developing into the star the Dodgers envisioned when they made him the highest-paid pitcher in the sport a year ago.
“He’s our ace,” Dave Roberts put succinctly.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts embraces pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto after holding the Yankees to one run in Game two of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) <!–>
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The Dodgers manager is careful not to throw that term around flippantly. He knows how few of them there are in the big leagues and the expectations the label brings. An ace needs a track record of success. An ace needs to handle both lefties and righties with aplomb. An ace needs to go deep into games.
And, sometimes, an ace needs to be the stopper.
That’s the role Yamamoto played on May 20, with the Dodgers on a four-game losing skid during which their starters had allowed 16 runs in 15 innings. Most of the pitchers comprising that group were not the ones the Dodgers envisioned on the mound when they retooled this winter. Yamamoto and Dustin May are the only active starters remaining from the team’s season-opening rotation.
“You just can’t lose on nights that Yamamoto throws,” Roberts said.
That night, Yamamoto did his part to ensure they didn’t.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead after holding the Diamondbacks hitless through six innings, trouble struck for Yamamoto when Ketel Marte roped a single off the wall to start the seventh. A wild pitch and a couple groundouts moved Marte to third before Yamamoto issued a four-pitch walk to Gabriel Moreno.
The go-ahead run was on, Yamamoto’s pitch count had risen over 100, and a decision loomed for Roberts.
“It’s not about pitch count, it’s not about third time through,” Roberts reasoned. “It’s about, ‘He’s our best option.’”
In a choice he probably wouldn’t have made a year ago, Roberts left him in.
One batter later, Yamamoto rewarded his manager’s faith.
On his career-high 110th pitch, Yamamoto finished off his seventh scoreless inning with his ninth strikeout of the night, a 92-mph cutter at the bottom of the zone that glanced off the bat of Pavin Smith and into the glove of catcher Will Smith. Yamamoto strolled off the mound to chants of “Yo-shi” echoing throughout Dodger Stadium.
It was one of five starts this year in which Yamamoto has gone at least six innings without allowing an earned run; he had three such starts all of last season.
“He’s a completely different guy now,” Roberts told me. “The demeanor on the mound, there’s just an even-keeled heartbeat out there. I watch our pitchers and players very closely, and there’s a lot of things that he does after a big inning or a big out or a certain situation that he’s always looking for more. It’s palpable. I can see it.”
What does that look like?
“He’s standing a little bit taller,” Roberts explained. “I really do see it. I know that’s figurative, but he’s standing taller.”
It took time for that confidence to develop.
Yamamoto enjoyed a strong debut season last year, though the $325 million price tag begged for more. The pinpoint command that helped him win three straight Sawamura Awards — Nippon Professional Baseball’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award — fluctuated. Yamamoto finished the year with a 3.00 ERA, but he went more than six innings only twice and threw fewer than 100 innings in the regular season after missing nearly three months with a rotator cuff strain.
Still, he was at his best when the Dodgers needed him most.
Specifically, he was at his best against the team he’ll see again Sunday.
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The first time Yamamoto faced the Yankees was a turning point in his rookie year. Many of his teammates and coaches recall his seven shutout innings in the Bronx last June as the moment that demonstrated his ability to handle the pressure of baseball’s biggest stage.
It might have convinced Yamamoto, too.
“It just provided him the confidence to know that he can pitch in any sort of game environment or setting,” Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness said.
The second time he faced the Yankees, Yamamoto proved it.
In his lone start of the World Series, he delivered 6.1 innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 win.
That elite version of the Japanese sensation is becoming the norm now, all the more important for a Dodgers rotation that ranks 22nd in ERA. Yamamoto is the only healthy starter on the Dodgers roster with an ERA under 4.00.
“He has, quite honestly, some of the best command I’ve ever seen,” McGuiness said. “The comfort level’s through the roof with the ball, the environment, the pitch clock, the catchers, everything.”
Yamamoto is inducing more whiffs and soft contact than he did last year and has the third-highest year-over-year increase in groundball rate among qualified starters. He’s commanding his fastball more expertly, and he’s devastating opponents with his splitter, which has become one of the nastiest offerings in the sport.
“I’m kind of in awe of how well he executes,” Tommy Edman said. “He’s able to dot the outside corner whenever he wants, and once he hits that corner, he has the splitter off of it. I don’t really know how I’d attack him as a hitter.”
Yamamoto’s consistency and comfort have risen in conjunction.
Many Dodgers players, coaches and personnel have noted how much more at ease Yamamoto appears both on and off the field compared to where he was early last year as a 25-year-old in a new league, with a new team, learning a new language, throwing a new baseball and adjusting to a new schedule.
“I think he’s more relaxed now,” Teoscar Hernandez said. “He makes jokes. He plays around.”
“He’s just a guy that’s very comfortable in his own skin,” Kike Hernandez added. “He’s got a little bit of an unorthodox routine, but he doesn’t really care. He’s just confident.”
Yamamoto’s singular routine hasn’t changed, but it’s one that now has proof of concept.
“The first year I think everybody kind of spent staring at each other, like, ‘Are you judging me?’” said Brandon McDaniel, Dodgers vice president of player performance. “Obviously, we want everybody to feel super comfortable when they come in here and do the things they can do to be successful, and obviously he was extremely successful. So, it’s been really cool to see that fit in now, where it’s just like, that’s how he goes about his business. And it works really, really well.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the only healthy starter on the Dodgers roster with an ERA under 4.00. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) –> <!–>
Interest gets piqued when a player Yamamoto’s size — around 5-foot-10, no more than 180 pounds — is routinely pumping fastballs over 95 mph. Occasionally, both Dodgers players and personnel will try out his javelin toss.
“Especially in the minor leagues,” McDaniel said. “I went on a rehab assignment with him last year and saw a clubbie go out and do it. I think everybody’s super curious about what it does and how to go about it. I don’t think anybody’s, like, doing them regularly, but I think there’s a lot of curiosity, like, ‘That little guy throws that hard, that much?’”
That intrigue extends to the teams who visit Dodger Stadium.
When the Brewers traveled to Los Angeles last July, Clayton Kershaw suggested to Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy that he watch Yamamoto’s catch play. Murphy studied intently and marveled at the precision.
“It’s, f-ing, an art,” Murphy said. “It’s like Steph Curry shooting.”
Yamamoto knows what works for him.
Now, after a year in the majors, those around him do, too.
“We understand it better,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. “He gets how it all works within the day, because our schedules are so different between here and the NPB, with travel and day games and all that. Overall, his level of comfort with what’s going on, everything leading up to the game and in between starts, is at a much higher level.”
After a year of experience, Gomes also believes that Yamamoto has a better feel now for when to dial in and when to let loose. Gomes always thought Yamamoto had a welcoming nature to him that made him easy to gravitate toward, even with the language barrier, which is becoming less of an impediment.
Teoscar Hernández said Yamamoto clearly knows a lot more English this year compared to last. Now, he can ask Yamamoto short questions and get a response.
Yamamoto’s teammates notice the effort he is putting in.
“I know for a fact sometimes after games at night he’ll do a one-hour English lesson,” Kiké Hernández said. “He can kind of get by with what he has. I would say I played with like seven Japanese players, maybe more, and he is by far the most dedicated with English class. I think that by next year he’s going to be able to pretty much be fluent.”
“I was told that he does English classes like three times a week,” reliever Alex Vesia added. “You can have a long conversation with him. It’s very normal, and he understands the English jokes and sarcasm. So, you can go back and forth and have a fun conversation.”
It remains a work in progress. Others have not found it quite so easy to communicate just yet.
“You can kind of see a little personality on the field, but even then, there’s so many guys that are completely different on the field than off the field,” Mookie Betts said. “To be honest, I know he’s a great dude, but it’s hard to really get to know him because of the language barrier.
“Maybe one day,” Betts continued. “We’ve got a long time together.”
Betts signed a 12-year extension in 2020 and immediately helped lift the Dodgers to a World Series championship.
Last year, Yamamoto did the same, thriving on the biggest stage in October as the last standing member of the team’s season-opening rotation.
This year represents another leap forward. Gomes has noticed Yamamoto developing a better understanding for gameplanning. Yamamoto said he can move
As scrupulous as he is with his preparation, Yamamoto can be similarly meticulous when critiquing his performance.
“He’s been frustrated by a few pitches here and there,” McGuiness said. “It’s like, my goodness, man, take a step back and look at what you’ve done.”
Given all the injuries in the Dodgers’ rotation, there’s an argument to be made there’s no player more vital to the team’s success. You could double Yamamoto’s 1.97 ERA, and he would still have the lowest mark among active starters on the roster.
His work in March and April, when he posted a 1.06 ERA over his first six starts of the year, earned him his first career Pitcher of the Month Award.
Eleven starts into the season, he is still pitching at a Cy Young level.
He struck out 10 batters in seven scoreless innings in Texas on April 18. He allowed one hit in six scoreless innings in Atlanta on May 2. Over his last two starts, he has allowed two runs on four hits with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings.
And on Sunday, for the first time in 2025, he’ll match up again against the team that helped build his belief and reputation.
“In his first year, he pitched on the biggest stage,” Max Muncy said, “and he was great. For him to know he can do that, it has to add a ton of confidence.”
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves.
That’s why we’re here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days’ games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:
Sale speeds to 2,500 Ks
Chris Sale, while facing the Phillies on Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader, recorded the 2,500th strikeout of his career. Sale pitched six shutout innings, scattering a pair of hits and three walks while striking out eight batters — the last of which let him finish the day at exactly 2,500.
It’s notable as more than just a round number, too, as Sale is the fastest-ever pitcher to reach 2,500 punch outs, in just 2,026 career innings. He’s also just the 40th player to ever reach that many career strikeouts, which, when combined with the speed with which he got here, is incredible to consider given that he was a reliever for the White Sox for the first two years of his MLB career before transitioning to the rotation. A reliever who struck out 111 batters in 94.2 innings, sure, but still.
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The list gets even shorter from here, however: when Clayton Kershaw (2,974 career Ks) gets to 3,000 strikeouts, he’ll be merely the 20th to ever get that many in an MLB career. Sale is next up among active players, at 2,500, and should be able to get there as well, so long as he can stay healthy and effective for a little bit longer.
That’s been a question with him more often than you’d like, especially on the health side, but there’s no denying that this guy can still miss bats. He led the National League in strikeouts in 2024 en route to a Cy Young, and it was the third time he led his league. In 2017 with the Red Sox, he led the majors with 308 of them. He’s currently in sixth in 2025, despite a slow start to the year, but he’s recorded 62 strikeouts in his last 48.2 innings while posting a 1.66 ERA in that eight-start stretch, so it’s safe to say he’s in fine form once more.
Blue Jays hit 4 HRs in 12-0 victory
The Blue Jays and Athletics are playing a four-game series this weekend, and Toronto kicked things off by… well, kicking the A’s, mostly. Four home runs in a 12-0 victory is a great/terrible way to start off a series, depending on which side of things you’re on. Ernie Clement (a three-run homer), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (two-run blast), Bo Bichette (two-run dinger) and George Springer (solo shot) were responsible for the flurry of long balls, with Athletics’ starter Jacob Lopez responsible for giving up the first two, and Anthony Maldonado the later ones.
The day went beyond those four players going yard, however: that was just eight of Toronto’s 12 runs accounted for. Clement actually added another two RBIs to the mix on a day in which he went 3-for-5 with a double on top of the homer, and Bichette added another RBI, along with a double, as well.
What’s a little terrifying about the Jays scoring 12 runs is that they stranded nearly as many runners as they plated: they had 18 hits and five walks on the day, went 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 runners on the bases. So, you know. Could have been worse, A’s fans. Could have been a lot worse. Today’s a new day and all that, and maybe it’ll be better than yesterday. It would be difficult for it to get worse and all.
Fan catch
This is incredible. Ernie Clement’s aforementioned three-run homer went in and out of the glove of a young Blue Jays’ fan in attendance, which must have felt just awful. So close to the rarest of souvenirs, yet so far. When would this kid ever have the chance to catch a home run from a Blue Jays’ player, or any player, again?
Not all that long, it turns out.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s shot went to the exact same location, except this time, it stayed in the young fan’s glove. Which pumped them up just a bit, as you can see. Now there’s a story that no one will believe years from now — good thing it was caught by the cameras, huh?
Nationals 7-run 10th
You get into extra innings, and anything could happen. It’s like a brand new ballgame, only without starting pitchers. The Mariners and Nationals went into extras in Seattle on Thursday, tied 2-2, and things started out innocently enough. The Nats scored on a sac fly to deep right, giving them a 3-2 lead courtesy Daylen Lile’s first RBI in the majors. Ho-hum, such is the way of things when you start a runner in scoring position in the 10th.
And then, the Nats kept scoring. CJ Abrams doubled. James Wood was intentionally walked. Nathaniel Lowe then scored Abrams with a single to left, then the bases were loaded on a fielder’s choice gone wrong. Luis Garcia Jr. would double, scoring two, then Josh Bell would homer, putting the Nationals up 9-2.
The Mariners would get one back in the bottom half of the 10th to make it a 9-3 Washington victory, in a series that just kind of went like that. The Mariners won the first game on Tuesday, 9-1, then the Nationals blanked Seattle 9-0 on Wednesday. We should have known all along that one of these teams would plate nine runs again on Thursday, even if things were slow on that front for 9/10ths of the game.
Simpson doesn’t need a hit to score
Chandler Simpson is fast. If you’ve seen him run before, you already know this. On Thursday, he drew a walk against Astros’ pitcher Ryan Gusto, and then stole second base a few pitches later.
Not satisfied with one theft, Simpson went for a second just three pitches later: on another low breaking ball, he took off for third, and the throw ended up off-target and in left field. Simpson picked himself up — once the diving third baseman, Isaac Paredes, was no longer on top of him — and headed home on an E2.
The Rays would win, 13-3, so it’s not as if Simpson’s run happened in a moment where they absolutely had to create a run out of practically nothing. But he showed he could do it, through the patience to draw a walk, waiting for the right pitches to go on to give himself an edge, and being enough of a nuisance to everyone that, eventually, there was a rushed throw, and a chance to score. That’s going to come in real handy someday.
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The New York Yankees had seven months to think about their fifth-inning collapse in Game 5 of the World Series last October. The Bronx Bombers dropped a 96.5% chance of winning the game, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rubbed it in their noses all winter. Los Angeles players said they were just waiting for the Yankees to make mistakes, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts felt that their challenging NLDS matchup against the San Diego Padres “was the World Series.”
This offseason, both pennant winners added to their dominance (and payrolls) while maintaining their momentum. The Yankees lost Juan Soto in free agency, but they responded aggressively. The Dodgers went on a spending spree, with their future salary commitments rising to nearly half a billion dollars.
The Yankees are hungry to avenge. The Dodgers are ready to defend.
That’s the backdrop to this weekend’s highly anticipated World Series rematch, set to kick off on Friday night at Chavez Ravine. It’s a new season, with fresh starts, and yet both the Yankees and Dodgers represent two of the top five teams in Major League Baseball.
There are the top storylines to keep track of as these teams meet again, and FOX Sports MLB writers Deesha Thosar and Rowan Kavner broke them down for you. Here are the six themes to watch this weekend.
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Will the Juan Soto replacements be difference makers?
The Yankees wasted no time pivoting after they lost the Soto sweepstakes to the Mets this offseason as general manager Brian Cashman secured a huge haul — signing southpaw Max Fried, outfielder Cody Bellinger, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and closer Devin Williams in free agency. This year, the Yankees are actually a more well-rounded and complete team with those four stars on the roster than they were with Soto patrolling right field last year.
Despite ace Gerrit Cole’s season-ending Tommy John surgery, the Yankees have the fourth-best pitching staff in the major leagues, led by Fried’s MLB-best 1.29 ERA. They have the best offense in baseball, in terms of on-base percentage, slugging, walk rate, OPS+ and WAR. Goldschmidt’s 156 wRC+ is ranked 14th among all qualified major-league hitters, a huge boost from Anthony Rizzo’s 84 wRC+ last year. And Bellinger is playing nearly 40 points better (120 wRC+) than his predecessor, Alex Verdugo (83 wRC+), was for the Yankees last year. Their defense has been enhanced (more on that later) and their bullpen has rebounded from Williams’ early-season struggles to boast the fourth-best ERA (3.25) in the league.
Was losing Soto for the best? The Yankees team that walks into Dodger Stadium on Friday has a completely different look to it than the one that crumpled in the fifth inning of Game 5 last year. As of now, the Yankees have the advantage in several statistical categories, and the Soto replacements have the potential to bury Los Angeles this weekend. – Thosar
Will the Yankees’ defense cost them the series — again?
There is an argument to be made that the Yankees lost the World Series because of their own embarrassing errors in the field. At least, the Dodgers sure seemed to think so after they won the World Series, with players like Joe Kelly and Chris Taylor indicating they received scouting reports to just wait for the Yankees to get in their own way. That prophecy ultimately came true.
New York’s poor fundamentals were exposed throughout the Fall Classic. In Game 1, Shohei Ohtani took third base on Soto’s error, a bad throw to second base, and he instantly scored on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly. In Game 3, Giancarlo Stanton, who ranks in the 3rd percentile in sprint speed, was easily thrown out at home. In Game 4, Anthony Volpe should’ve scored from second base on a double off the wall, but he just advanced to third. It all culminated in Game 5, a fifth-inning meltdown that will haunt Yankees fans until the club wins a championship. The Yankees were in the driver’s seat with a 5-0 lead and two outs in the fifth when Aaron Judge dropped a can of corn in center field, Volpe committed a throwing error, and Gerrit Cole did not cover first base. The Dodgers, anticipating this, took full advantage and completed a five-run rally in the fifth before winning the championship that night.
Fast-forward to now, though, and the Yankees have improved from being ranked 12th in Defensive Runs Saved last year, to fifth in MLB this year. Max Fried leads the team with 4 DRS, and the sharp defense of Cody Bellinger and the currently-injured Jazz Chisholm has led to a needed boost on the field. Gleyber Torres had the team’s worst DRS (-11) last season, and it was no coincidence the Yankees didn’t re-sign him in free agency this offseason. Judge had the second-worst DRS (-9) last year playing center field, but he’s much more comfortable back in right field this year, sporting a 0 DRS that indicates he’s at least league average.
We’re not expecting the Yankees to meltdown this weekend in the World Series rematch, but it will be fascinating to see how their improved defense overall helps them with the finer details against the reigning champions. –Thosar
Aaron Judge’s gaffe in the outfield in Game 5 was a pivotal moment in the 2024 World Series. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) <!–>
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Will Mookie Betts be a threat against the Yankees?
After the Dodgers captured the championship trophy last year, they asked Betts to transition from playing outfield to becoming their every-day shortstop (again), and this time, he’s going to stick there for good. But, ever since Betts turned his full attention to playing an above-average shortstop for Los Angeles, it sure looks like that focus on his defense has negatively impacted his presence in the lineup.
The 32-year-old’s batting average (.254), OPS (.742) and underlying advanced metrics are all below his career averages in 53 games this year. Most of the red popping up on his Baseball Savant page is for his higher chase, whiff, and strikeout rate, which is completely unlike what the 12-year veteran with all-time great numbers is used to seeing. He didn’t just rack up seven Silver Slugger awards, a batting title and an MVP award by accident, so it’s fair to expect Betts to return to his usual high bar at some point in the season. But can he do it against the red-hot Yankees, who enter the series on a five-game winning streak, having won 16 of their last 20 games?
Betts deserves a ton of credit for playing shortstop at an excellent level after learning the intricacies of baseball’s most demanding position in the big leagues. That’s a lot to take on, and his selfless attitude to make the shift to short, which was asked of him in part to allow the club to re-sign Teoscar Hernandez, is something not a lot of superstars in the game would agree to do. Still, Betts’ bat is just as important as his glove. The Dodgers, though equipped with the second-best offense in baseball, need all the boost they can get against New York, and this weekend sure would be a terrific time for Betts to reclaim his groove at the plate. – Thosar
Do Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández continue tormenting the Yankees?
The swing lives in Dodgers lore…and Yankees nightmares. Freeman’s walk-off grand slam to end Game 1 of the World Series, after hobbling his way through the first two series of the postseason, will go down as one of the all-time memorable moments in playoff history. But the World Series MVP was far from finished after that iconic blast. He went on to homer in each of the first four games of the series and became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in six straight World Series games (dating back to the last two games of the 2021 World Series, when he was with the Braves).
Of course, he is not the only player in the Dodgers’ lineup who gave the Yankees headaches last year. Teoscar Hernández had already endeared himself to Dodgers fans in his first season with the club last year long before a June trip to the Bronx, but that series in New York helped build his clutch reputation and set the stage for October. He won the opener of that mid-season series by knocking in the first two runs of the game in the 11th inning, blasted two home runs the following day to spark a victory and finished the series with six hits and three home runs. Including the postseason, Hernández recorded a hit in all eight games he played against the Yankees last year. He hit the go-ahead home run in Game 2 of the World Series and the game-tying double in the five-run onslaught in the deciding Game 5 during the Yankees’ fifth-inning unraveling.
Now back with the Dodgers after re-signing this offseason, Hernández enters the weekend as the club’s RBI leader. Even if the Yankees manage to limit Ohtani, Betts and Freeman, life doesn’t get much easier with Hernández lingering. – Kavner
Freddie Freeman’s production hasn’t missed a beat since his World Series performances. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) <!–>
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How do the former Dodgers now wearing pinstripes impact the series?
It’s a customary gesture from the reigning World Series winners: When a visiting player who contributed to their championship run returns to Dodger Stadium, that player picks up his ring. It happened for Jack Flaherty in March. It happened for Ryan Brasier in April.
If or when it happens this weekend, though, it might be a little more awkward.
Ryan Yarbrough pitched in 32 games in relief for the Dodgers last year before getting traded to Toronto. He signed with the Yankees this March, helped lift a depleted New York rotation earlier this month — he shifted from reliever to starter and has a 2.25 ERA in four May starts — and is now in line to start Sunday in Los Angeles. At some point before then, he will likely receive his World Series ring… from the team that beat his current team in the World Series.
Yarbrough is one of a handful of new Yankees players with ties to the Dodgers as the teams prepare to run it back. Most notably, this will be the third series back at Dodger Stadium for Cody Bellinger since the team non-tendered the 2019 MVP after the 2022 season.
He made his first two trips back count.
As a member of the Cubs, Bellinger went 3-for-11 with a home run, a double, two walks and two stolen bases at Dodger Stadium in 2023 and then went 4-for-11 with two homers and four walks at the venue last season. In addition, Yankees backup infielder Jorbit Vivas was a Dodgers prospect before getting traded to New York in December 2023. This will mark Vivas’ first big-league action against the team that dealt him away. – Kavner
Do the Dodgers have enough arms to contain the Yankees’ attack?
Many of the Dodgers pitchers who helped best the Yankees last October won’t be around in the rematch. Walker Buehler is in Boston. Flaherty is in Detroit. Brasier is in Chicago. Blake Treinen, who went 2.1 innings in the deciding game of the World Series, has been out for more than a month. Neither Michael Kopech nor Brusdar Graterol have thrown a big-league pitch this year, though Kopech appears close to a return.
After a year in which they were down to three reliable starters last October, they sought to remedy their issues by again spending lavishly this offseason. Needless to say, it hasn’t gone to plan. In addition to Treinen and Kopech, the bullpen is also without Evan Phillips and newcomer Kirby Yates, while three starters from the season-opening rotation — Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki — are already on the shelf. You could field a competent big-league staff using only the pitchers on the Dodgers’ injured list.
They have piled up wins despite the absences, but their starters rank 22nd in ERA while their relievers rank 17th. Their bullpen has thrown the most innings in MLB, and they’re coming off a series finale in Cleveland in which they coughed up a late three-run advantage. The task ahead gets harder against a Yankees offense with the highest OPS in MLB, one that features a mostly different cast from last year’s World Series squad.
Having Yoshinobu Yamamoto helps. The best start of Yamamoto’s debut season last year came in New York, when he went seven scoreless innings on June 7. His best postseason start also came against the Yankees, when he held them to a run on one hit and two walks in 6.1 innings in a Game 2 win. He has carried that late-season form into the 2025 season. By the time he goes Sunday, though, how much damage will the Yankees’ lineup already have done? – Kavner
Dave Roberts on managing Shohei Ohtani and what he brings to the Los Angeles Dodgers | The Herd
Dave Roberts joins Colin Cowherd on The Herd to discuss managing Shohei Ohtani, the greatest player in baseball, and what he brings to the Los Angeles Dodgers both on and off the field.
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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Trout was placed on the 10-day injured list after sustaining an injury to his left knee. He last appeared on April 30 when the Angels were visiting the Seattle Mariners.
Prior to his injury, Trout appeared in 35 games this season, 22 at right field and 13 at DH. A revolving door of Jorge Soler, Jo Adell and Gustavo Campero picked up the slack for Trout in right field, and Soler took the bulk of the starts at DH. Taylor Ward and Logan O’Hoppe also filled in at DH, and the Angels decided to call up Matthew Lugo to increase their depth of options in the outfield.
With Trout healthy, the Angels were 12-18 through 36 games and have been an improved 13-12 without him, including sweeping the cross-town rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Trout, an 11-time All-Star and three-time MVP, was hitting a career-low .179 batting average prior to his injury, but it would be surprising if he didn’t slot right back into the middle of the order when the Angels travel to Cleveland.
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The franchise has one of the most storied histories of all time since its days in Brooklyn, with eight World Series victories and 22 total appearances. Sustaining that level of greatness requires developing, acquiring and maximizing talent — and having those players perform at their best when it matters most.
That said, we’ve rounded up the 10 best Dodgers in history.
Who are the top 10 Dodgers of all time?
10. Don Sutton
Sutton’s legacy is most defined by his durability. He started 756 games across 23 seasons and had a career earned run average of 3.26, including an MLB-best 2.20 mark in 1980. While he never won a World Series, he helped the Dodgers reach four and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
9. Dazzy Vance
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Vance might as well have founded the high fastball. Renowned for his heater, he used it as a setup and put-away pitch. Vance led the league in strikeouts in five separate seasons and led the National League in ERA on three occasions. That’s even more impressive considering he didn’t start pitching until age 31, so his ceiling could’ve been even higher.
8. Duke Snider
Snider was a safety net in center field. He could get under any ball hit his way, even when it required diving or making basket catches. He complimented that defense with his prolific bat: Snider hit more home runs and RBIs in the 1950s than any other player. He was also a crucial part of the Dodgers’ 1955 and 1959 World Series victories.
7. Roy Campanella
Talk about safety behind the plate. Every hurler needs a reliable catcher like Campanella, who could frame any ball and scare any would-be base stealer. Not only was Campanella a defensive savant, but he could hit the leather off the ball. He had three separate 30-HR, 100-RBI seasons, and he won NL MVP in each of those. He’s one of just three catchers to have multiple MVP awards, joining Yogi Berra (three) and Johnny Bench (two).
6. Don Drysdale
Drysdale had two main intimidating factors, and he combined them to become one of the most imposing pitchers of all time: His height and unorthodox throwing motion maximized his reach. Drysdale was a towering 6-foot-5, and he threw with a sidearm motion. Right-handed hitters could barely see it, and lefties struggled to time it. Drysdale led the league in strikeouts in 1959, 1960 and 1962, winning the Cy Young in that latter season. In 1959, he helped the Dodgers win their first World Series since making the move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. When the Dodgers won it again in 1963, Drysdale pitched a gem in Game 3, allowing no runs and just three hits while striking out nine batters.
5. Pee Wee Reese
A dazzling shortstop with everlasting range, Reese could make plays falling away from first base or moving toward it — scooping soft ground balls with his bare hand or digging one-hoppers out of the dirt. He led the league in fielding percentage (97.7%) in 1949 and helped the then-Brooklyn Dodgers win their first World Series in 1955.
4. Fernando Valenzuela
“El Toro” is one of the most beloved Dodgers to this day. His popularity with fans and his influence on the Los Angeles community alone could land him on this list. Then, there are the stats and accolades. Valenzuela had one of the best debut seasons in MLB history. In his rookie year in 1981, Venezuela led the league in strikeouts, won Rookie of the Year and Cy Young honors and helped the Dodgers win the World Series.
Kershaw is essentially the 21st century version of the next player on this list, Sandy Koufax. An imposing southpaw, Kershaw has been the model of regular-season consistency in Los Angeles. He has led the league in ERA in five separate seasons and in wins three times. He has won three Cy Young awards and earned MLB MVP honors in 2014 when he had a career-best 21-3 record with a career-low qualifying ERA of 1.77.
2. Sandy Koufax
Koufax stamped his legacy when he pitched a pair of complete-game shutouts in the 1963 World Series to help the Dodgers close out the Chicago White Sox. Koufax also ranks second all time in most no-hitters, throwing four over his career. He won three Cy Young awards and was named MLB MVP in 1963, doing all this despite an arm injury so notable that a book, “Black and Blue,” was named after it.
1. Jackie Robinson
Robinson was MLB’s first Black player, and he was a star from the moment he came into the league at 28 years old. He won Rookie of the Year in 1947, while leading the National League in stolen bases. Two years later, he won MLB MVP when he hit a career-high .342 batting average.Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.
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Diaz finished ninth in MLB in total saves in 2024. Before that, he earned an All-Star nod in 2023 and recorded 37 saves, good for fourth in the sport.
Entering 2025, however, he didn’t hold the Reds’ closer job. Then, on May 1 — one day after conceding five earned runs in one inning to the St. Louis Cardinals — the Reds optioned Diaz to Triple-A.
To make room for Diaz on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers placed reliever Evan Phillips on the 60-day injured list.
Phillips last appeared in a game on May 5. He was originally placed on the injured list due to forearm discomfort, but an MRI later revealed that the root of the problem was inflammation in his elbow.
While Diaz’s role in the bullpen isn’t certain, his arrival comes at a crucial time for the Dodgers. Along with Phillips, the Dodgers have seen relievers Kirby Yates, Blake Treinen, and Michael Grove hit the injured list this season. Meanwhile, relievers Brusdar Graterol, Michael Kopech and Kyle Hurt continue to rehab from long-term injuries.
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With that extensive slate of injuries, the Dodgers need Diaz to rediscover his previous form.
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