Sports
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Can They Finish What They Started?
Jun 8, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds third base and scores on an double by first baseman Freddie Freeman (not pictured) during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images It will be New York vs. Los Angeles, Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani, the best team in the American League against the top one in the National League when a must-see World Series begins Friday on the West Coast.
This October collision course seemed inevitable way back in May, but when do early-season World Series projections ever come to pass?
In the end, it will be the top two teams in baseball from the top two markets in the country with a pair of sure-fire MVPs battling it out for a title.
Here is how both teams got here and three keys to finish off what they started:
New York Yankees
Sep 6, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil (81) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Yankees bolted from the gate with the best pitching staff in baseball to automatically set them up as a World Series favorite since their offense also consisted of Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.
By the second week of May, the Yankees had a major league-best 2.86 ERA and the third-best ERA in baseball from their starters at 2.95. Making it all the more incredible is that the inspired performances were coming from a staff without an injured Gerrit Cole.
Coming off Tommy John surgery and with just seven big league starts to his credit, Luis Gil opened the season 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA after eight starts. Cole returned from an elbow injury on June 19, wobbled a bit at first, then reeled off a 1.58 ERA in seven starts for the start of August through Sept. 8.
Judge’s MVP march found its stride with 14 home runs, 27 RBIs and a 1.397 OPS in May. He had at least a 1.000 OPS in every month this season except for the first one. Soto had 41 home runs and 109 RBIs in his first season in the Bronx, showing that no task is too tall.
Three Yankees keys to winning the World Series:
Power is king for the Yankees, and backbreaking home runs are their specialty. Judge’s 58 in the regular season were more than anybody, while Stanton’s five in the postseason lead anybody on either team. And it was Soto who had the biggest long ball of all when his home run clinched the ALCS over the Guardians. Dodgers pitching, meanwhile, gave up 120 home runs, eighth worst in baseball and one more than the 121-loss Chicago White Sox.
Comparatively speaking, the Yankees are the picture of stability when it comes to their starting rotation. Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Gil will handle the starting duties all the way through Game 7. But eating innings is not as vital in the postseason as quality ones. If the Yankees can get six-inning starts on the regular, the bullpen figures to be in good shape to take care of the rest.
Neutralizing Ohtani is easier said than done, but he has looked like a mere mortal for stretches in this postseason. The Padres pitched Ohtani up-and-in, then down-and-in in the NLDS, holding the LA star to two hits in 15 at-bats in the final four games of the series. And Ohtani had an 0-for-22 run this postseason without a runner on base. Slowing Ohtani slows down the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Sep 16, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Just the frequency of injuries alone should have knocked the Dodgers off stride this season, let alone the injuries to their high-level talent. Ohtani has been available every day, but just about everybody else has missed significant time, from Betts to Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman with his current sprained ankle.
On the pitching side, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Emmitt Sheehan, and standout rookie Gavin Stone are all out for the postseason.
Of the three starters still standing, Jack Flaherty didn’t join the club until late July, Yoshinobu Yamamoto missed three months with a shoulder injury, and Walker Buehler didn’t return until May after two years away following a second Tommy John surgery. Then he missed two more months with a hip injury.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spent much of his time addressing what was going wrong, and yet the team was never out of first place this season while holding off two of the second half’s hottest teams, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Three Dodgers keys to winning the World Series:
On a one-year deal this season, an inspired Teoscar Hernandez has been as valuable as anybody outside of Ohtani. But he inexplicably disappeared in the NLCS when he was overpowered by fastballs. The Home Run Derby champ hit 33 of them in the regular season, and while the top three players from each team battle it out, Hernandez can end up being the best of the rest.
The call to fire Roberts gets louder each year in a sad refrain that, perhaps, comes with the territory when sitting in the hot seat of a club loaded with talent. Yet Roberts is having his finest season, all leading to a master class in managing this postseason while navigating three bullpen games, with victories coming in two: one to keep the season alive in the NLDS and one to clinch the NLCS.
It has been a long season for Freddie Freeman, who took time off as his young son worked his way back from a serious illness. Then came his sprained right ankle on the late-September night the Dodgers clinched the NL West for the 11th time in 12 years. Freeman said he is good to go for Game 1 and his production will be key after he already missed three games this postseason and has just one hit in his last 15 playoff at-bats.
Sports
Liquid, Shopify post wins to wrap LCS Summer Split Week 1
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Liquid and Shopify Rebellion got on the board with wins to conclude Week 1 of the League Championship Series Summer Split on Sunday.
Liquid swept Cloud9 2-0, and Shopify Rebellion did the same to Disguised. The regular season kicked off Saturday with victories by LYON and Sentinels.
The LCS Summer Split is an eight-team event that began Saturday and will run through the finals in October. The seven-week round-robin regular season — in which all teams play each other once in a best-of-three match — will set the field for the six-team playoffs.
The top two teams in the regular season will advance to the playoff semifinals, while the third- through sixth-place teams will advance to the quarters. The bottom two teams in the standings are eliminated.
The playoffs, which run Sept. 12 through Oct. 4, are best-of-five and double elimination. The top three teams will advance to the World Championships, played in New York, Los Angeles and Allen, Texas, from Oct. 15 through Nov. 14.
On Sunday, Liquid ran through Cloud9 in 38 minutes and 29 minutes on blue. Sean “Yeon” Sung averaged a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 6.5-0.5-6.5 across the two maps for Liquid.
Shopify turned back Disguised in 40 minutes and 29 minutes, also playing on blue. Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami of Australia averaged a 6.5-0.5-7.0 K-D-A to guide Shopify.
The LCS 2026 Summer Split continues Saturday with two matches:
–Cloud9 vs. Dignitas
–FlyQuest vs. Disguised
LCS 2026 Summer Split Standings
Place, Team (Match Record, Map Record)
T1. LYON (1-0, 2-0)
T1. Shopify Rebellion (1-0, 2-0)
T1. Team Liquid (1-0, 2-0)
4. Sentinels (1-0, 2-1)
5. Dignitas (0-1, 1-2)
T6. Cloud9 (0-1, 0-2)
T6. Disguised (0-1, 0-2)
T6. FlyQuest (0-1, 0-2)
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dominic Canzone, Mariners seek series split against Rangers
Jul 26, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone (8) singles against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images Dominic Canzone was closer to assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes than just about anyone on the Seattle Mariners’ roster.
The two spent hours working on making Canzone more than just a platoon player.
So Canzone took it pretty hard when Magallanes was fired Thursday, the fall guy for the Mariners’ anemic offense.
Canzone responded by hitting his team-leading 16th home run, a three-run shot in the seventh inning, and added an RBI double in the ninth as the visiting Mariners rallied for a 6-4 victory against the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
The four-game series between the top two teams in the American League West concludes Monday afternoon.
“Offense can be contagious, and that’s the hope, that this sparks a fire,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
The reigning division champion Mariners snapped a four-game skid and moved past the Houston Astros into second place in the division, 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Rangers.
Canzone’s homer gave the Mariners the lead and Randy Arozarena went deep on the next pitch, both off Rangers reliever Cole Winn.
“I just left a pitch over the middle and (Canzone) took advantage of it. Same thing with Randy,” said Winn, who hadn’t allowed a run in his previous seven appearances. “There’s really nothing to that aside from making bad pitches and them capitalizing.”
The Mariners, who rely on the long ball more than just about any other team in baseball, had gone deep just 28 times in their previous 34 games.
“It was obviously a big moment,” Canzone said. “It was nice to just get the team in front and get a win.
“Especially coming from behind and struggling a little bit offensively, obviously, this is a step in the right direction. We need to come out tomorrow and do the exact same thing.”
The Rangers won the first two games of the series 5-4 and 7-1.
They took a 3-1 lead into the seventh Saturday.
“I think the bullpen, we have different guys in different lanes that have done really good, and we’ve had some hiccups along the way that have cost us just like everybody else,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Today the home run cost us.”
Monday’s series finale is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Seattle’s George Kirby (8-8, 3.57 ERA) and Texas’ Kumar Rocker (3-8, 4.13).
Kirby pitched six innings last Monday in an 8-0 victory against visiting Cincinnati, giving up three hits and striking out six. Kirby is 9-1 with a 1.33 ERA in 12 career starts against the Rangers. He suffered the lone loss by a 3-2 margin April 7 in Arlington despite pitching eight strong innings. He rebounded to beat them 7-3 on April 18 in Seattle.
Rocker beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Tuesday with six innings of one-hit ball. He’s 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lions starting S Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph to start camp on PUP list
Sep 28, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) holds his knee after an injury during the first half against the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images The Detroit Lions will be without starting safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph when training camp begins, as they were placed on the physically unable to perform list on Sunday.
The Lions also placed veteran tight end Tyler Conklin — signed as a free agent in March — on the PUP list with an injury.
Branch, 24, sustained a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 14 last season. Joseph, 25, dealt with a knee injury last season that limited him to six games.
Players can be placed on the active/PUP list only before the start of training camp. The Lions begin camp on Wednesday.
Players on the active/PUP list count against the 90-man roster limit and can attend team meetings and use team facilities in the preseason. They can be removed from the list at any time during camp and begin practicing immediately. Otherwise, while on the list, they cannot participate in any part of practice.
A player on the reserve/PUP list doesn’t count against the active roster but must sit out at least the first four games.
A Pro Bowl selection in 2024, Branch played in 12 games (all starts) last season, making 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and nine passes defensed.
For his career, Branch has 258 tackles, 4.5 sacks, seven interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 20 tackles for loss and 38 passes defensed in 43 regular-season games (37 starts) since 2023.
Detroit selected Branch in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
A first-team All-Pro in 2024 when he led the league with nine interceptions, Joseph played in just six games (all starts) last season. He had 18 tackles, three interceptions and four passes defensed.
Joseph has played in 55 regular-season games (52 starts) and has 265 tackles, 20 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and 35 passes defensed.
Detroit selected Joseph in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Illinois.
Conklin, who turns 31 on Thursday, had seven receptions on 10 targets for 101 yards in 13 games (five starts) last season for the Los Angeles Chargers.
He has 270 career receptions for 2,645 yards and 11 touchdowns in 127 games (69 starts) for the Minnesota Vikings (2018-21), New York Jets (2022-24) and Chargers.
Minnesota drafted Conklin in the fifth round in 2018 out of Central Michigan.
–Field Level Media
Liquid, Shopify post wins to wrap LCS Summer Split Week 1
Dominic Canzone, Mariners seek series split against Rangers
