IT’S AN L.A. STORY
Forget the AL, Dodgers are the Yanks’ biggest threat
It’s not even the All-Star break and we are already daydreaming about an October showdown against the Dodgers.
Just look at the standings and tell us it’s not too soon to think about a cross-coast Fall Classic.
Barring an epic collapse, the Yankees appear to be well on their way to winning their first division tittle since 2012. The Rays and Red Sox are no match for the Bronx Bombers as they are a combined 14-3 against their division rivals and own a 90.3% chance to be crowned AL East champions according to FanGraphs.
When Yankees faithful head to sleep following a usual dominant performance from the pinstripes, there’s that team just getting started on the West Coast that should be keeping them up at night.
Yep, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 60-29, and have essentially clinched the NL West considering their 14.5 game lead on the second place Rockies. But the threat the Dodgers pose goes well beyond their record.
Dave Roberts’ squad features a relentless lineup, and a pitching staff that would give the Bombers fits.
Los Angeles staff features three southpaws in Hyn-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill — who is on the 60day DL but is expected to return in September. Ryu is 10-2 with a league leading 1.73 ERA, the only pitcher in the bigs under the two-run mark. Kershaw is not having a typical dominant season as he is arguably the best pitcher of this current generation, but his 3.23 ERA is nothing to sneeze at.
However, the reason this staff should concern the Yankees goes beyond their ERAs.
The Yanks as a team are hitting .237 versus left-handed pitching, that’s 37 points below their .274 average against righties. Granted, the Bombers big right-handed bats in Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have missed the vast majority of the season, yet it’s still a cause for concern.
When they aren’t throwing out one of their crafty lefties, 24-year-old phenom Walker Buehler is toeing the slab for L.A. in Chavez Ravine. Buehler got off to a rough start this season, but he appears to have turned a corner once the calendar flipped to June.
The right-hander features a triple-digit fastball followed by nasty breaking pitches in his curveball and slider that both register north of 2870 RPM (spin rate). In his last six starts, Buehler has a 2.68 ERA while striking out 55 batters in 43.2 innings pitched.
This staff is devastating, and anyone should want to stay far, far away from it come October. Yet somehow, the lineup that compliments it is just as scary.
Los Angeles leads the NL in OPS and is second in both home runs and runs scored thanks in large part to Cody Bellinger.
The 23-year-old Bellinger is slashing .344/.438/.711 with 30 homers, 71 RBI and leading the league in both WRC+ with 190, and WAR at 5.8. The right fielder appears to be the frontrunner for NL MVP, narrowly edging out last year’s winner Christian Yelich.
The Dodgers lineup doesn’t end with Bellinger, lefty bats Max Muncy and Joc Pederson have mashed 20 or more homers each this season. Their left-handed power with the short porch in Yankee Stadium could be a nightmare.
Complementing their big boppers are contact hitters Corey Seager, Alex Verdugo and ex-Met Justin Turner, their lineup is as relentless as a National League lineup can be.
The Yanks head to Los Angeles on Aug. 23 for a weekend series at Dodger Stadium. Typically speaking, the “waytoo early World Series preview,” tends to turn out poorly for whoever writes it. It’s not often that the two-best teams in the regular season meet in the World Series, however, this year feels different.
The Dodgers are trying to win their third-consecutive NL pennant with arguably their best team they’ve had in years. Bellinger was actually on the bench in two of the five games of the 2018 World Series, the only time he’ll see the pine this time around is inbetween innings.
Last season, the Yankees had two major problems, the Red Sox and hitting with runners in scoring position. The Yanks have already beaten the Red Sox six out of seven times this year and are 11 games ahead in the division. And they’re hitting .307 with RISP, 54 points higher than their mark last season thanks to DJ LeMahieu being added to the fold.
It just feels like both of these teams’ year to finally win it all. This October could be the 12th installment of the legendary Yankees-Dodgers World Series, truly the definition of the Fall Classic.
It’s not too early to start the conversation.