Los Angeles Dodgers try to respond after a beatdown on Friday night

The Los Angeles Dodgers were thoroughly defeated by the New York Yankees on Friday night and look to avenge that in a rare Saturday afternoon showdown.

In what has been dubbed as a potential World Series preview, the Los Angeles Dodgers host the New York Yankees for a three-game series in Los Angeles this weekend. The Yankees got the best of the Dodgers in game one, throttling the Dodger pitching staff in a 10-2 victory.

For the Dodgers, this was an uncharacteristic loss. Rarely does the team lose by more than five runs but it was even more surprising that it happened at their home ballpark. The Dodgers pitching staff is so lights out at home, especially Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was absolutely torched in this game.

This is a potential World Series matchup and I am not going to undersell the importance of having this kind of game in the regular season, because if the Dodgers would have won in this fashion, every Dodger fan would have bragged about how they are the far superior team.

But for those that are taking the negative approach, I will remind you that this is just one game in a three-game series and the Boston Red Sox beat the Dodgers 8-1 in the first game of their series at Fenway Park earlier in the year. The Dodgers won the next two.

The Dodgers could easily win the next two and completely flip the narrative, but don’t take that as a definitive sign that the Dodgers are better. Win or lose, this series guarantees nothing in October, although it is important for potential home-field advantage in the World Series.

Saturday provides the rare Saturday afternoon game to get maximum exposure on national TV. The ball might be flying around the yard again and as part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think can provide at least one base hit.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger did not have a great game on Friday as James Paxton gave him fits at the plate. Bellinger went 0-3 with three strikeouts in a performance that was reminiscent of the 2017 World Series, which saw Bellinger fall to the pressure.

Bellinger is a completely different hitter now than he was back then and he is going to respond from a hat trick in the best way that he knows possible: with home runs.

It is another left on left matchup on Saturday as the Yankees are calling on C.C. Sabathia but Sabathia does not have the stuff he once did. Bellinger, mad about his performance from last night and seeing the Yankees slug the ball around the yard, is going to want to assert his dominance as the MLB’s home run leader.

Yes, not only will Bellinger get a base hit but a home run as well. And I would not even be surprised if he slugged a second out later in the game.