The Dodgers are in the World Series. Here’s what you need to know.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to face the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series this Friday. It’s a showdown between the nation’s two largest cities, the MLB’s two best players, and the top team in each league. This is also the twelfth time that these two teams have met in the finals. Most recently, the Dodgers beat the Mets 4-2 in 1981.

The Dodgers have now appeared in the postseason twelve consecutive times, the longest such streak in North American sports. They were World Series champions in 2020, and reached the finals in 2017 and 2018.

Both teams placed first in their respective leagues’ regular seasons. The Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1, and the Cleveland Cleveland Guardians 4-1 to reach the World Series, while the Dodgers bested the San Diego Padres in a 3-2 series, followed by the New York Mets, who went down 4-2.

One more thing unites the two teams: either the Dodgers’ Ohtani (then playing for the Angels) or the Yankees’ Judge has won MVP in each year since 2021. The two are widely regarded as the best players active in the league right now. A website in Ohtani’s native Japan has dubbed this series the ‘Battle of the Titans.’

This is the first season in which Shohei Ohtani has played for the Dodgers. The Japanese superstar finished the regular season with the MLB’s highest total of runs, and its second most home-runs and second-highest combined slugging and on-base percentages. He also became the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge led the MLB in home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Oddsmakers slightly favor the Dodgers to prevail over the Yankees. Los Angeles has maintained the highest championship betting odds since the beginning of the season.

Schedule and Where to Watch

Games will be available on Fox (Channel 11 in Los Angeles) and online through MLB.TV and Fubo. 

The series will begin in LA on Friday, October 25. All games will begin at 5:08 PM Pacific. The schedule for the subsequent games is as follows:

• Game 2: Yankees @ Dodgers, Saturday, October 26
• Game 3: Dodgers @ Yankees, Monday, October 28
• Game 4: Dodgers @ Yankees, Tuesday, October 29
• Game 5 (if necessary): Dodgers @ Yankees, Wednesday, October 30
• Game 6 (if necessary): Yankees @ Dodgers, Friday, November 1
• Game 7 (if necessary): Yankees @ Dodgers, Saturday, November 2