New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Dodgers Picks and Predictions July 18th 2026

Rain threatens rematch between Yankees, Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers returned from the All-Star break on Friday and earned a win on a night when stars Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts were quiet at the plate against the New York Yankees.

Instead, the Dodgers relied on dominant pitching and a clutch hit in the late innings of a 2-1 victory.

The teams will continue their three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night, though bad weather is forecast. Heavy rain is projected for the New York area for most of Saturday, and if the game gets rained out, the teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday.

The Dodgers are 31-17 on the road this season and own 18 one-run victories after opening the series with the one-run victory Friday on Max Muncy’s go-ahead, two-run homer off Gerrit Cole with no outs in the seventh inning.

Muncy’s homer was among five hits for the Dodgers, who struck out 10 times. Ohtani, Freeman and Betts were a combined 0-for-11, though Betts drew a walk before Muncy homered.

“It was good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Any time you can find a way to win a game when Gerrit Cole is pitching is a good thing.”

The Yankees were held to one run or less for the 16th time this season, and for the seventh time since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured right rib.

New York allowed Muncy’s homer after Yankees manager Aaron Boone elected to keep Cole in after a mound visit.

The Yankees finished with six hits, including a double by Ben Rice, who is batting .412 during a nine-game hitting streak. Rice’s double nearly tied the game in the eighth, but Trent Grisham was thrown out at the plate on a throw by Betts.

“It’s just baseball,” Grisham said. “Sometimes you score 10, sometimes you score one.”

Left-hander Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA) will start for the Yankees on Saturday after allowing one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings during a no-decision in his team’s 5-3 victory over Washington on July 10.

Weathers is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in his past three outings. He is 0-3 with a 5.46 ERA in seven career appearances (six starts) against the Dodgers, though he has held Betts to one hit in 12 at-bats and Ohtani to 1-for-8. Weathers has struggled against Freeman, as the first baseman is 5-for-10 against him.

Right-hander Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) will start for Los Angeles on Saturday and is 1-5 in his past nine starts since May 14. This will be his first career appearance against the Yankees.

Sheehan last pitched on Sunday, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in 5 1/3 innings during a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to Arizona.

–Field Level Media