LOS ANGELES. — The Los Angeles Dodgers are all-in on winning a second straight championship while the New York Yankees search for World Series redemption and the Mets look to end a title drought when the MLB season begins in earnest on Thursday (Friday in Manila).
The Dodgers, who got their title defense off to a solid start with a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series earlier this month, beat the Yankees in a thrilling Fall Classic five months ago.
The Dodgers went on to win the offseason too, adding elite pitching to a lineup that already includes reigning National League MVP ShoheiOhtani, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and three-time champion Mookie Betts.
The Dodgers are gunning to become the first team to capture back-to-back titles since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000 and the team’s front office spent the winter attacking the club’s only vulnerability – their starting rotation.
Enter two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who the Dodgers signed to a five-year, $182 million deal that included a hefty $52 million signing bonus in late November.
Snell will get the ball for the Dodgers in their home opener in LA on Thursday (Friday in Manila) against the Detroit Tigers, who will send fellow Cy Young-winner Tarik Skubal to the mound.
The Dodgers’ two wins in Tokyo marked a triumphant homecoming for Ohtani and the team’s two other Japanese star pitchers – Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie Roki Sasaki.
