Yankees vs. Dodgers 2024 World Series Preview: Top Storylines to Watch

The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the New York Yankees for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, Oct. 25, at 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX.

Oct 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The New York Yankees celebrate after beating the Cleveland Guardians during game five of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

And then there were two.

For the first time in 43 years, the New York Yankees will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, showcasing two of MLB’s most iconic franchises with star-studded rosters and some of the league’s highest payrolls.

Here’s what you need to know heading into Friday:

Pitching Matchups

Both teams have yet to finalize their World Series rotations, but on Monday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that ace Gerrit Cole will start Friday’s Game 1 at Dodger Stadium.

Cole, 34, has made three starts this postseason, allowing six earned runs and striking out 12 in 16.1 innings. This will be his second appearance in the Fall Classic; during his last trip with the Houston Astros in 2019, he lasted seven innings in both starts, including a nine-strikeout, one-run performance in Game 5.

Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil are expected to follow, as they did in the ALCS.

The Dodgers, missing longtime ace Clayton Kershaw and 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow due to season-ending injuries, have relied on Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler, along with occasional bullpen games throughout this postseason.

Historic Rivalry

It has been a long time since these two teams met in the World Series, but before the modern playoff system was implemented, they clashed frequently.

The Yankees faced the Dodgers three times in the 1940s and four times in the 1950s, all of which occurred when the Dodgers were still based in Brooklyn; the Yankees won the first five matchups before “Dem Bums” finally triumphed in 1955. The Bronx Bombers then won again the next year, in what proved to be the final meeting between the two teams when they were both in New York.

After the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, the teams met again in 1963, 1977, 1978, and 1981, with the Dodgers winning in 1963 and 1981, while the Yankees won the two series in between. Overall, the Yankees have won eight of the 11 previous matchups.

Where Legacies Are Made

Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge and Dodgers’ star Shohei Ohtani are among the best baseball players on the planet. Both already have MVPs to their name and are likely to earn another at the end of the season.

According to OptaSTATS, this series will mark the first time in MLB history that two 50-homer hitters face each other in the World Series, with Judge hitting 58 and Ohtani hitting 54 during the regular season.

Despite their impressive accolades, both players have one glaring omission: a championship ring. At 32, Aaron Judge is making his first World Series appearance after three previous ALCS disappointments. Shohei Ohtani, 30, is finally in the postseason for the first time this year, after spending his first six seasons with the Angels, who hold the longest active playoff drought in baseball.

While both are almost certain future Hall of Fame inductees, the ability to deliver championships is what elevates legends like Derek Jeter and Sandy Koufax in their respective cities. With Judge and Ohtani earning hundreds of millions of dollars in a big market, the pressure intensifies.

For Giancarlo Stanton, who boasts 429 career home runs and an NL MVP award, a championship run in pinstripes could solidify his Cooperstown candidacy, despite facing criticism for inconsistent performance and frequent injuries throughout his time in New York.

Stanton's postseason production is undeniable; in 36 playoff games, he has hit 16 home runs in 149 plate appearances, achieving a 1.019 OPS. He was additionally named ALCS MVP in New York's triumph over the Cleveland Guardians.

Key Players Battling Injuries

The Yankees could be welcoming back a key piece of their pitching staff at the perfect time. Boone indicated that Nestor Cortes Jr. has a "decent chance" of making the World Series roster after recovering from a left elbow flexor strain that has sidelined him since September 25; before the injury, he had allowed no more than one earned run in six of his last seven outings.

Boone also stated that first baseman Anthony Rizzo should be "good to go" after playing through fractured fingers in his right hand during the ALCS. On the other side, Dodgers’ All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman has been battling a sprained right ankle, missing NLCS Games 4 and 6, but a few extra days of rest before Friday’s Game 1 should aid his recovery.