Yankees-Dodgers midsummer set barely resembles highly anticipated World Series

The Yankees and Dodgers met for a three-game set June 7-9 in The Bronx, with Los Angeles taking the first two contests before the hosts won the finale.

Here’s a look at some takeaways from the series: 

Haven’t seen them yet 

While the Aaron Judge-Shohei Ohtani matchup still headlined their three-game set in early June, it lacked other stars who will shape the World Series.

Juan Soto had exited the Yankees’ previous game on June 6 with left forearm discomfort and didn’t play.

Clarke Schmidt’s right lat strain had prompted a trip to the injured list.

Gerrit Cole was around 10 days away from his season debut. Carlos Rodon’s turn in the rotation missed the Dodgers by a day. Jack Flaherty — LA’s Game 1 starter Friday and almost a Yankees acquisition at the deadline — still pitched for the Tigers. 

Back to normal 

The most notable difference in the Dodgers’ Game 1 lineup will involve Mookie Betts.

His shortstop experiment was still ongoing during those June games, but it ended in August with a shift back to right field.

That, paired with a Miguel Rojas injury in the NLDS, eventually led to the postseason emergence of NLCS MVP Tommy Edman, hitting .341 in October, at shortstop. 

Judge’s case against Ohtani 

The sample size was small — just three games compared to 12- or 13-game splits against divisional foes — but Judge collected a higher OPS (2.351) against the Dodgers than any other 2024 opponent.

He went 7-for-11 with three homers and five RBIs.

Ohtani went just 2-for-13 in the series. 

On the flip side 

Giancarlo Stanton added to his playoff legacy with a four-homer, MVP-winning ALCS, but the designated hitter’s October tear will collide with a pitching staff he didn’t record a hit against in 2024 (0-for-14, seven strikeouts). Anthony Rizzo went 0-for-9.

But Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, hitless in the NLCS until his two singles in the clincher, could benefit from facing the Yankees again.

He went 6-for-12 — and matched Judge’s three homers — during their regular-season series. 

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In a glimpse of the Dodgers’ incessant rotation issues, Gavin Stone and Tyler Glasnow started two of the three Yankees showdowns.

Stone will miss all of 2025 after October shoulder surgery.

Glasnow hasn’t pitched since Aug. 11 due to an elbow injury.

But LA’s June 7 starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who could make two World Series starts — had plenty of success navigating the Yankees’ lineup.

Yamamoto tossed seven scoreless frames, allowed just two hits and retired 12 in a row at one point.