While the Los Angeles Dodgers hold the best record in baseball as they storm to a 10th consecutive postseason berth, there was a point this season when they trailed the New York Yankees in MLB standings.
The Yankees endured a lull in early July but went into the All-Star break with a 64-28. Their 64 wins tied the 2018 Houston Astros for third-most by any team at the break since the inaugural All-Star Game in 1933.
New York essentially played .500 baseball to finish July, and the month of August brought about more struggles until a current four-game winning streak. Even with that stretch, the Yankees are just 8-14 this month.
Prior to their downturn, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed a belief that the Yankees were the best team in baseball but still stood by his World Series prediction, via “The Show” with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman:
“I’m not going to go back on that comment. I think that’s the standard we set for ourselves and there’s not a person that doesn’t feel that way or expect that from our ballclub. The caveat was keeping our pitching healthy. To that statement, I did say that and I do mean it. Pitching wins championships. Yankees have been the best team all year up to this point. I’m very happy for Boone and what they’re doing over there. For us, we’ve got to continue to get better. It’s about getting our guys playing the best baseball at the right time. Like I said and we talked about earlier, I think our best baseball is ahead of us. So to make my words come true, let’s get our guys back to being healthy, and then it’s my job, it’s our job to go out there and play our best baseball at the right point in time to make my words come to fruition.”
As Roberts noted, the Yankees look like a legitimate championship contender when playing to their potential. Of course, he understandably still feels confident about the Dodgers’ chances of winning the 2022 World Series.
Roberts previously guaranteed the Dodgers would be the last team standing this season, and a potential matchup with the Yankees would surely excite baseball fans everywhere.
Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series history
While much of it came when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, they share plenty of World Series history with the Yankees — albeit much of it ending in heartbreak.
The Dodgers and Yankees have met in the World Series 11 times. The Dodgers have only won three of those matchups.
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