The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the season with their sights set on making history. They’re looking to become the first team to win three straight World Series championships since the New York Yankees accomplished the feat from 1998-2000.
It wasn’t that long ago when the Dodgers captured their second consecutive title, outlasting the Toronto Blue Jays in a seven-game series. They pulled it out despite trailing by one run heading into the ninth inning of Game 7.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the World Series MVP after dominating throughout the series. The right-hander went 3-0 with 15 strikeouts and a 1.02 ERA, even coming out of the bullpen in that decisive seventh game.
Now in his second year, Yamamoto’s looking every bit the ace who helped deliver that championship.
On Friday, he capped off his spring training with a vintage performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yamamoto struck out the side in the first inning, then kept dealing through five innings. He finished with seven strikeouts on just 68 pitches.
That outing pushed his spring strikeout rate to 13.03 K/9. When you’re talking about that kind of dominance from Yamamoto, combined with what Shohei Ohtani brings to the table, it’s easy to see why the Dodgers are the team everyone’s chasing.
The lineup’s loaded with potential Hall of Famers, and they added Kyle Tucker – a Gold Glove winner, multi-time Silver Slugger, All-Star, and World Series champion who should fit right into their winning culture.
Every team knew coming into the season it was going to be tough to knock off the two-time defending champions. But with Yamamoto’s elite pitching anchoring the rotation and a batting lineup where nearly everyone can take you deep, the question isn’t whether the Dodgers can win it all again.
It’s whether anyone can stop them, especially if they stay healthy.
