Los Angeles Dodgers: The start of the series of the year

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees square off in a three-game weekend series that is a potential preview to the World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are the two-best teams in Major League Baseball this season (don’t worry, Houston, you guys are right up there at number three). While anything could happen in October, these two teams have been great all season long and look primed for a World Series run.

For the Dodgers, it would be the third NL Pennant in a row and a chance to get rid of the sour feelings from the last two years and finally get over that hump that has been seven years (well, 31 technically) in the making.

When it comes to the National League it is the Dodgers and then everyone else. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and an eight-game lead over the next best NL team, the Atlanta Braves. But again, anything can happen.

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For the Yankees, they look to win championship number 28 after an uncharacteristic dry spell from the franchise. Although they have still been making the playoffs, they have only made it past the Divisional Round twice.

Sounds crazy, I know, but if they do not win this year then the 2010 decade will be the first decade since the 1910s that the Yankees didn’t win a World Series. Their first World Series win was in 1921.

The path to the World Series is a bit harder for the Yankees, as they will have to play either the Houston Astros or Minnesota Twins in the Championship Series if they stay how they currently are.

New York should be hoping that the Wild Card is either the Oakland Athletics or the Tampa Bay Rays, as those are the two teams that currently hold it and are beatable. The Cleveland Indians would probably be the worst-case scenario.

Again, that is assuming the Yankees finish with the best AL record. If the Astros surpass them then they have to play the Twins in the ALDS, which is the absolute worst-case scenario for New York.

Houston is only one game behind the Yankees and three games behind LA for the best record, so their eyes will be on this series to see if the Dodgers can use their home-field advantage wisely and knock the Yankees down a few notches.

Every baseball fan in America should be watching this series and as part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, this is who we think will provide at least one base hit to hopefully lead Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Dodgers over the Yankees in game one.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 4): Justin Turner

Justin Turner constantly comes up in big moments for the Los Angeles Dodgers and that is why his postseason statistics are so impressive. This weekend’s series is going to have October vibes to it and that is going to lead to Turner coming up when it matters most.

Hopefully, this game is a blowout and we don’t need yet another walk-off for the Dodgers to win it. However, if they do, Turner will deliver in the clutch.

Turner has no matchup history with opposing pitcher, James Paxton, but the left on right matchup certainly is promising, especially considering Paxton’s 4.53 ERA.

The perfect game on Friday would be a Hyun-Jin Ryu gem where he shows the world that he really is the best pitcher in the game right now and shuts down the Yankee offense while Turner delivers some of his usual fireworks at the plate himself.