Dodgers-Yankees series preview June 2024

NEW YORK — First place vs. first place. Rival vs. rival.

The Yankees-Dodgers series at Yankee Stadium this weekend will have it all. It’s one of baseball’s most historic rivalries. There are MVP candidates on both sides. And both teams are powerhouses in 2024.

The Bronx Bombers enter the showdown with the best record in the Major Leagues at 45-19. They’re led by their captain, Aaron Judge, whose 21 home runs are the most in MLB, and whose 1.080 OPS is the best in MLB. Juan Soto — although he left Thursday’s game with left forearm discomfort — is leading the American League with a .318 batting average and pacing the Majors with a .424 on-base percentage.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are in first place in the National League West once again at 39-25. They’re the reigning division champions, and they are looking for their 11th NL West title in the last 12 seasons. They have a trio of MVPs in Shohei Ohtani, who enters the series batting .318 with 15 home runs and a .973 OPS, Mookie Betts, who’s batting .312 with 10 homers and a .923 OPS, and Freddie Freeman, who’s batting .294 with eight homers and an .880 OPS.

When the Yankees and Dodgers clashed last season at Dodger Stadium, the Yankees took two of the three games. The two teams haven’t faced off at Yankee Stadium since 2016; the Dodgers took two of three in that series. Since they first met in regular-season Interleague play in 2004, the Yankees lead the series, 10-9.

Of course, there are also the 11 World Series meetings between the longtime rivals, of which the Yankees have won eight. Will this series in New York be a preview of No. 12 in 2024?

Here are the matchups for every game of Dodgers-Yankees this weekend, plus how to watch.

Friday — 7:05 p.m. ET on Apple TV+

Dodgers: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 3.32 ERA, 76 K)

Yankees: RHP Cody Poteet (2-0, 2.45 ERA, 10 K)

Yamamoto will take center stage in New York for the series opener. The ace right-hander, in his first season since coming over from Japan, has started to find his groove. Since a rocky debut during the Seoul Series, Yamamoto has posted a 2.67 ERA in his next 11 starts, with 74 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Saturday — 7:35 p.m. ET on FOX

Dodgers: RHP Gavin Stone (6-2, 2.90 ERA, 47 K)

Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (3-4, 3.46 ERA, 74 K)

Stone is having a breakout season in his first full year in the Los Angeles rotation. The 25-year-old has allowed one run or fewer in six of his last seven starts, and he is coming off back-to-back scoreless outings against the Mets and Rockies.

Nasty Nestor loves pitching in front of the home crowd at Yankee Stadium. Cortes is 3-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 40 strikeouts in six starts in the Bronx this season, compared to 0-3 with a 6.17 ERA and 34 strikeouts in seven starts on the road.

Sunday — 7:10 p.m. ET on ESPN

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (6-4, 2.93 ERA, 104 K)

Yankees: RHP Luis Gil (8-1, 1.82 ERA, 85 K)

The series finale is a marquee pitching matchup: one of baseball’s most dominant strikeout artists vs. a breakout Cy Young candidate.

Glasnow leads MLB with 104 strikeouts in his debut season with the Dodgers. He’s the only pitcher in the Majors who’s already over the century mark in K’s.

Gil stepped in with ace Gerrit Cole injured and has led the way in the Yankees rotation. The electric 26-year-old is even in the Triple Crown mix — Gil leads the AL in ERA, is tied for second in wins with teammate Carlos Rodón and ranks fifth in strikeouts.