Yankees vs. Dodgers in World Series rematch: Four things to know, prediction for weekend series in L.A.

Thanks to the magic of interleague play, there will be a World Series rematch this weekend at Dodger Stadium. It used to be that there would only be World Series rematches in, well, the World Series. The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will host the New York Yankees for three games beginning Friday night. The Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games in last year’s Fall Classic.

“It’s going to be great to see how we stack up against them,” Yankees star Aaron Judge said earlier this week (via MLB.com). “I think the boys in here are all excited and ready to go.”

The Dodgers and Yankees are both in first place and have been two of the best teams in baseball this season. The Yankees are 35-20 with a plus-113 run differential, and have a 6.5-game lead in the AL East. It is the largest division lead in baseball. The Dodgers, at 34-22 with a plus-65 run differential, have a more precarious two-game lead atop the NL West.

Here are the details for this week’s three-game series in Chavez Ravine. Select games can be streamed regionally on fubo (try for free).

Each team has its ace going this weekend (Fried and Yamamoto). The rest of the starting pitchers this weekend are essentially fill-ins. The Yankees (Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil) and Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell) are both without several top-end starters due to injuries. New York could start either Carlos Rodón (normal rest) or Ryan Yarbrough (extra rest) on Sunday.

The Dodgers (-150) are favored at home in the series on FanDuel, and Las Vegas is expecting some offensive fireworks in Friday’s opener as the over-under is set at nine runs.

Here are four things to know about this weekend’s Dodgers vs. Yankees series in Los Angeles, plus a prediction thrown in because why not?

1. The Judge and Ohtani show

Judge and Shohei Ohtani, two titans of the sport, will be in opposite dugouts this weekend. Judge is flirting with .400 in addition to his usual power-hitting exploits. Ohtani leads baseball in home runs and is a few weeks away from returning to the mound. All-world talents, both of them. Historically great players who will one day be alongside in Cooperstown.

Here’s what Judge and Ohtani have done this season:

Judge has gotten the better of Ohtani in direct one-on-one competition on the field. Judge hit a home run off Ohtani the pitcher on June 2, 2022, and also robbed Ohtani the hitter of a home run on April 13, 2023. Of course, Ohtani’s Dodgers defeated Judge’s Yankees in the World Series last year, and those are the ultimate bragging rights.

Bottom line, Judge and Ohtani are the two greatest and most magnetic players in the game. Being in opposite leagues means we only get to see them share the field once a season (plus potentially the World Series), and that is this weekend.

2. Don’t forget about Freeman

Ohtani and Judge will be the headliners this weekend, but let’s not forget Freddie Freeman. Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series last year. Prepare to see this highlight approximately 4,000 times this weekend:

That was the first and still only walk-off grand slam in World Series history. Freeman went 6 for 20 (.300) with four home runs — one each in Games 1-4 — in the World Series en route to being named World Series MVP. He did that on one healthy ankle too. Surely you remember how hobbled Freeman was throughout last October.

Freeman has been on a rampage this season, hitting .359/.427/.617 with nine home runs in 45 games. He is second to Judge in batting average and third in slugging percentage behind Judge and Ohtani. His 194 OPS+ is second in baseball, snuggly between Judge and Ohtani. The three best hitters in the game this year will be on the same field this weekend.

3. Trending in different directions this month

Things have gone very differently for the Dodgers and Yankees this month. The Dodgers are 13-12 in May, which isn’t bad, but does qualify as a skid for a team with this much talent. They’re 5-7 in their last 12 games following a brutal loss to the Guardians on Wednesday, when Cleveland scored five runs in the eighth to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 win.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have won five straight games and 16 of their last 20. They’ve won seven consecutive series, including sweeping the Angels in Orange County earlier this week. Those same Angels swept the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium during Rivalry Weekend two weeks ago. If you believe in momentum, the Yankees have it going into this weekend’s series and the Dodgers do not. (Momentum and $2.90 will get you on the subway in New York.)

4. Who’s hot, who’s not?

Baseball is a game of hot and cold streaks. Consistency is a myth. A .300 hitter doesn’t get three hits every 10 at-bats, or even hit .300 every single month. He hits .300 one month, .250 the next, .350 the month after that, etc. Naturally, some Dodgers and Yankees players go into this weekend swinging the bat better than others.

Here are three Yankees players who have been at their best over the last 15 days:

I intentionally omitted Judge here just because we spoke about him earlier. He’s been great these last 15 days (.310/.453/.571), though those numbers are merely MVP caliber rather than godlike. Bellinger’s been excellent in May and Goldschmidt has been great all year. He’s rebounded from a career worst year in 2024 in a big way. Volpe has been a doubles machine lately and drive in a run(s) in all three games against the Angels earlier this week.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Yankees have gotten nothing from second and third base the last few weeks. Since Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Oswaldo Cabrera got hurt a few weeks ago, really. New York’s second and third basemen (DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas) are hitting a combined .141/.234/.256 since Chisholm hit the injured list four weeks ago. Yeesh.

Here now are three Dodgers players swinging a hot bat as they welcome the Yankees to Dodger Stadium:

Like Judge, I left Freeman and Ohtani out of this because we discussed them earlier. They’ve both been great the last two weeks though. Smith has a .457 on-base percentage for the season, second in baseball behind Judge. Muncy has really turned his season around these last few weeks. He started very slowly in April, but is back to taking walks and crushing dingers in May.

Tommy Edman (.129/.182/.161) hasn’t quite been himself since returning from his ankle injury on May 18 and Andy Pages (.208/.220/.333) has cooled following his big April. Also, Mookie Betts is going through it right now. He’s hitting .220/.328/.340 the last two weeks and that is decidedly un-Mookie-like. Betts really hasn’t had that molten hot streak yet in 2025.

Prediction

Let’s close with a sure-to-be-wrong prediction: Yankees win two of three. Their pitching has been so, so good the last few weeks and their offense is deeper and more well-rounded than the group we saw in the World Series last year. The Dodgers have had trouble keeping runs off the board lately, which is understandable given their injuries, and the Yankees are equipped to take advantage. Los Angeles wins Friday’s opener, then the Yankees rally to win Saturday and Sunday. It has been foretold.