LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani set the tone of the highly anticipated World Series rematch against the New York Yankees on the first pitch he saw in the series opener. The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar blasted a 417-foot home run to center field on Friday in the series opener, just minutes after reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge hit a towering home run of his own.
That sequence will be part of MLB history. Judge and Ohtani became just the second reigning MVPs to homer in the same game since Miguel Tejada and Barry Bonds did in 2003. Ohtani and Judge each have 63 home runs over the last 165 games and both are on track toward adding another MVP award to their trophy case later this year (Ohtani is the favorite in the National League at -325, while Judge holds the honor in the American League at -8000, via Caesars).
“We love superstars,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Friday. “And to start the game off with Judge hitting a homer and Shohei answering in the bottom half was pretty exciting for everyone.”
Ohtani helped propel his team to a three-run comeback win over New York in the opening game of the series that set the tone for the rest of the heavyweight matchup. His base hit in the first inning of the Dodgers’ eventual 18-2 blowout win the next day to clinch the series foreshadowed bigger things to come. Ohtani got the fun started at the top of the lineup with a single, but Dodgers infielder Max Muncy was the one who tilted the series in the home team’s favor for good.
Muncy blasted two home runs – including the 200th of his career – and drove in seven runs, tied for the most in his career. His performance played a part in the Yankees suffering their worst loss against a National League opponent in franchise history.
“It was a good all-around game for us, definitely you could say it was a statement,” Muncy said after Saturday’s win. “For us to do it without Mookie (Betts) also, I think that’s huge for everyone trying to pick up the slack in the lineup. It was a good day offensively all around. Having several good games in a row, it’s good for the boys.”
New York’s offense in the second game of the series solely came from Judge’s bat. The Yankees scored two runs – both off solo home runs from their slugger – and finished with just seven hits. Three of those hits came from Judge, as he finished the series with three home runs, five RBIs and a walk drawn. Judge was hitless in five at-bats in the Yankees’ 7-3 win on Sunday.
The offense outside of Judge came alive in the series finale. Jasson Domínguez drove in Trent Grisham in the first inning, and Ben Rice blasted a 425-foot home run in the third inning to take the lead for good. The Yankees knocked Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto out after just 3 ⅔ innings after he surrendered three walks and seven hits, tied for the most he’s allowed in his career.
New York had won its last seven series until the Dodgers snapped that streak. Still, the Yankees came out of its West Coast road trip with a 6-3 record, with series wins over the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies to get back on track ahead of a six-game homestand against the Cleveland Guardians and the Boston Red Sox.
“I think honestly every game is the same,” Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger said after Saturday’s loss. “You want to come out, and you want to win. Losing the first two games of any series is tough. What we can do now is just kind of try to get a win tomorrow.”
Mission accomplished. The Yankees still have a 5 ½-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and sit just two games back of the Detroit Tigers for the best record in baseball.
This series win comes at the perfect time for the Dodgers. The month of May wasn’t kind to the Dodgers. Not only does Los Angeles currently have 14 pitchers on the injured list, but the back half of the month was uncharted territory. The reigning champions had a 5-7 record in their last 12 games entering this series – a stark contrast to the Yankees, who had won 10 of their last 12 games before facing L.A.
The Dodgers’ rough patch included getting swept by the Mets and losing two out of three to the New York Mets. They are still atop a crowded NL West with a 36-23 mark and have a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres. This series against the Yankees brought new juice to the clubhouse amid a tough stretch. It also made regular-season baseball in May feel like it was being played deep into October.
“The last couple of weeks have been a grind with all the stuff we have been going through,” Roberts said. “When you get the Yankees, fans get into it. It just infuses some excitement into the clubhouse. Guys showed up. It’s been a fun series for us.”
Heading into another marquee series against the New York Mets – the team tied for the best record in the NL – L.A. has its work cut out for them. The Mets took two of three against the Dodgers last month, which included a series-clinching 3-1 win in Queens.
“It always feels good to beat the Yankees,” Roberts said. “They’re the class of the American League right now. Anytime you can beat those guys, you feel good.”
It’s only June and there’s plenty of baseball left to play, but the Dodgers should feel good after this series against the Yankees. A collision course to face off again in the World Series is not just possible, but likely. If this rematch showed anything, both teams are steamrolling into October.
