Dodgers Preview: 6-Game Road Trip Begins in Queens for ’24 NLCS Rematch

QUEENS, NY—After a nine-game homestand in which the Los Angeles Dodgers collected four wins, the team will head East to begin a six-game road trip, first in Queens, New York, with a marquee matchup against the New York Mets.

It’s the first meeting between these two clubs since last year’s National League Championship Series, in which the Dodgers triumphed in six games.

The New York Mets’ start to the 2025 regular season has been much better. For most of the year, they held the top record in the National League. However, after a .500 record in their last ten games, they’ve dropped to second place in the National League East behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

To make matters worse, all eyes have been on the New York Mets superstar Juan Soto for all the wrong reasons, with issues due to body language and overall attitude.

Soto, 26, the top player in last year’s free agent class, inked a massive 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets in December 2024, making it the largest contract in Major League Baseball history. The deal includes a $75 million signing bonus, and there’s an opt-out clause after the 2029 season. 

However, the players around Juan Soto have carried the Mets this season, particularly the pitching staff, which President of Baseball Operations David Stearns assembled.

Overall, the Mets come into today’s matchup with the fourth-best offense in the National League (109 wRC+) and the second-best pitching staff (7.2 fWAR).

The Dodgers have been slipping over the last ten games, with five wins and five losses, including a weekend series sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels, the first time that’s happened at Dodger Stadium since 2010.

Still, the Dodgers’ offensive health is the healthiest it has been this season after the activation of utilityman Tommy Edman and 2024 National League All-Star Teoscar Hernández.

The promotion of top prospect Dalton Rushing and utilityman Hyeseong Kim has improved the depth on the bench tremendously, and the trio atop the lineup (Ohtani, Betts, Freeman) is finally hitting their stride.

However, the actual test for the Dodgers this series and over the next several weeks will be the starting rotation, which has been a massive question outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto this month.

This Memorial Day Weekend series is the start of a four-week stretch during which the Dodgers will play eight consecutive series against teams over .500, including the New York Mets and San Diego Padres twice, the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Guardians, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the San Francisco Giants.

Pitching match-ups 

Game One: Clayton Kershaw (LHP) (0-0, 11.25 ERA) vs Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.47 ERA)

Game Two: Tony Gonsolin (2-0, 4.05 ERA) vs David Peterson (LHP) (2-2, 2.86 ERA)

Game Three: Landon Knack (2-1, 6.17 ERA) vs Kodai Senga (4-3, 1.43 ERA)

Game Times

Game One: 4:10 PM PT, Apple TV+

Game Two: 4:15 PM PT, FOX

Game Three: 4:10 PM PT, ESPN

Who’s in & who’s out?

The Los Angeles Dodgers enter this series still missing over half of their Opening Day starting rotation, with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki all still on the injured list.

All three arms are still weeks away, with Snell and Glasnow just now starting their throwing program and Sasaki yet to pick up a baseball.

However, the pitching woes don’t just stop in the rotation, as the Dodgers will also be without veteran right-hander Kirby Yates, who suffered a Grade One hamstring strain during the Angels series.

In his place, the Dodgers recalled Lou Trivino, who has thrown 3.1 scoreless innings since joining the Dodgers.

The Dodgers activated multiple players off the injured list the past week, including Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernández, and veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw, who is set to make his second start of the season this series in New York City.

15-day Injured List (4): Tyler Glasnow, Evan Phillips, Roki Sasaki, Kirby Yates

60-day Injured List (10): Blake Snell, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech

If there’s one team that usually suffers as many injuries as the Dodgers, it’s the New York Mets.

Entering this series, the Mets have twelve players on their injured list, compared to the Dodgers’ fourteen.

Right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn is close to activation after making six rehab starts, including a seven-inning scoreless outing on May 21st. Blackburn is set to make one more start before being activated.

Outfielder Jose Siri is still weeks away from his activation after suffering a fractured tibia in April.

Luckily, the Mets’ starting rotation has remained afloat despite Frankie Montas and lefty Sean Manaea‘s being on the 60-day injured list.

Both starters are considered second-half reinforcements but have been involved in baseball activities.

10-day Injured List (2): Jose Siri, Jesse Winker

15-day Injured List (1): Paul Blackburn

60-day Injured List (8): Brooks Raley, Drew Smith, Christian Scott, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Nick Madrigal, Danny Young, A.J. Minter

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