When Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are involved, the hype actually can live up to the reality.
The World Series rematch between the visiting New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off with a roar Friday, only raising the expectations for what could happen in the middle contest of the three-game series on Saturday.
Judge hit a first-inning home run to center field Friday on the third pitch he saw. Ohtani responded with a blast of his own on the first pitch in the bottom of the opening inning. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend.
They became the first pair of reigning MVPs to hit a home run in the same inning of the same game. Ohtani added another home run in the sixth, his major league-leading 22nd, as the Dodgers rallied for an 8-5 victory that more than slightly resembled Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
“I feel like it’s a little different situation (than the World Series) but it’s always nice to come back from a losing situation and win the game,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
Left to deal with all of that power on Saturday will be a pair of second-year right-handers in the Yankees’ Will Warren (3-2, 4.09 ERA) and the Dodgers’ Landon Knack (2-2, 5.22). Warren still has his rookie status after making six appearances (five starts) last season.
In the most recent of his 11 starts in 2025, Warren gave up two runs on two hits in four innings against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. The Yankees won 5-4, though Warren had no part in the decision. He last won May 20 when he held the Texas Rangers scoreless over 5 2/3 innings of a 5-2 victory.
Judge hit a home run to help support Warren in that win against the Rangers. Judge has 19 home runs this season, and he has reached base in 53 of 56 games and is batting .392 with a 1.236 OPS. But getting the best of the Dodgers has proved vexing.
“You know people are asking if it’s personal, this and that; every game we play is personal,” Judge said about facing the Dodgers. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. … Just like these games, every game matters. We weren’t able to come away with a win (Friday), but it’s time to bounce back and get them tomorrow.”
Ohtani is ahead of his 2024 home-run pace — he hit a career-high 54 — with 22 this season. And it has come while performing double duty while closing in on a return to the mound as he continues his rehab from a right elbow injury.
“I think both teams started on a really good note,” Ohtani said about Friday’s thriller. “Momentum is really important in a game like today.”
Knack has never faced the Yankees in the regular season but had a four-inning relief outing against them in Game 4 of the World Series when he gave up just one run in New York’s 11-4 victory.
After a three-hit night on Friday, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman received extended treatment on a nagging right ankle injury.
“I feel good,” Freeman said. “I’m not thinking about my ankle at all right now. I mean, it’s taped with heel lifts, so we’re just trying to manage it.”
–Field Level Media
