00:00But Max Freed, who has been diabolical in his debut year for the Pinstripes on the bump,
00:05has his New York Yankees as a road favorite tonight in Los Angeles for game number one.
00:11The updated Moneyline price is minus 122 in favor of New York.
00:16The Catman, Tony Gonsolin, on the other side for L.A.
00:19A total stands at nine.
00:21We'll get to the overall series picture, DRS, what it means.
00:25Significance-wise early on this season for 2025 following a World Series rematch in just a moment.
00:31But let's start with the debut game tonight on a Friday in L.A.
00:34How do you see it playing out?
00:36I got to tell you, the first thing you look at is that nine number and say,
00:39yeah, they have really good lineups on both sides here.
00:42You got weather conditions out there in L.A., 75 degrees at first pitch, light wind blowing out to center field.
00:47It is a pitcher's ballpark overall.
00:49But Max Freed, like there's 28 pitchers on the card today with a minimum of 10 innings pitched in 2025.
00:55Max Freed's the best going away, an XFIP minus number of 78.
00:59How about an ERA on this season of 1.29?
01:01How about an XFIP number of 3.20, which is the best on the card, one of the best on the card.
01:06Actually, it is the best on the card today, excuse me, as an XFIP number.
01:09How about 20th?
01:10That's Tony Gonsolin, the starting pitcher today for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
01:13He comes in at a 105 XFIP minus, which isn't bad, a 4.68 ERA number and a 4.16 XFIP number.
01:21Now, granted, if you look at power of the lineups, it's probably better on the Dodgers.
01:25Well, Tony Betts, Hernandez, Freeman, Will Smith, Pias.
01:27I mean, those guys have been kicking it all season long.
01:30But no slats there on the opposite side is the New York Yankees.
01:33And pitching wins in Major League Baseball, would you like it better to be in, you know, at home where maybe you're more comfortable?
01:39Well, sure, but I'm taking the better picture tonight and saying, I don't know if we get 10 total runs.
01:44Because can Gonsolin get blown away?
01:46Sure.
01:46Like yesterday, you saw Zach Wheeler get blown away for the Philadelphia Phillies, something we were shocked by.
01:50But look, the Yankee tax is here tonight at minus 130.
01:54I think they win this game.
01:55And I don't know if we get 10 runs in this one.
01:57Put it that way.
01:58Max Freed has been incredible this season in his first year with the Yankees.
02:03And because of it, New York is that road favorite.
02:05The L.A. Dodgers DRS, of course, with the expectation this season, are not often booked as an underdog.
02:11In fact, L.A. has only been a dog in nine total games this season.
02:16That's the fewest around MLB.
02:18They are four and five outright in those nine games.
02:21But this will be the first time that Los Angeles has been booked as an underdog at home inside Chavez Ravine.
02:28We have not seen the Dodgers as a home dog just yet.
02:31That is set to change tonight, a little bit after 10 p.m. Eastern time.
02:36But, of course, 7 p.m. local on a Friday night in L.A.
02:39A marquee matchup this weekend and a marquee series DRS that we can expect maybe to not just be a World Series rematch, but a World Series preview.
02:50Is that where you stand on both of these teams at this time?
02:53That what we are going to see tonight, we are more than likely to see come late October, early November.
02:58Yeah, no, it makes some sense because, well, the Yankees have been sensational in the American League, in a down American League.
03:06They are the frontrunners to me, and you see them at 35 and 20 on the season.
03:09Now, the Dodgers, which is the crazy part about it, is the Dodgers are 34 and 22.
03:13And we still look at them like, that's an underwhelming season right there.
03:16We expected them to be, I don't know, 44 and 11 at this point or something ridiculous like that.
03:21It's Major League Baseball.
03:22It's a long way.
03:23But understand this.
03:24You don't win a World Series at the end of September.
03:26You win that by winning in the playoffs.
03:28And these two teams are deep-pocketed owners that, if they feel around the all-star break and or trade deadline,
03:34that they're ready to make a run and win the World Series, they will add on to already talented teams.
03:40So, as much as I love the Philadelphia Phillies, and maybe the Mets can make a run,
03:43and we love the stories of the Detroit Tigers and what they can be in the playoffs.
03:47But understand this.
03:48These two teams know how to win World Championships in their history,
03:51and they have deep pockets to sort of stride for that.
03:53So, yes, I do think we are looking at a legitimate World Series preview this weekend.
03:57Because why?
03:58The Dodgers are really good.
03:59At the end of the season, they'll be good.
04:01The Yankees, the same way for me.
04:03Yeah, and Donnie, when you look at the odds, that's the story we are being told right now.
04:07Both teams are the short pennant favorites in their respective leagues.
04:10The Yankees in the AL.
04:12Well, of course, the Dodgers have been a short favorite in every single category all season long,
04:16even before the 2025 MLB campaign got started.
04:20The Dodgers are the favorites to win a World Series at plus 240.
04:23The Yankees have that second best price.
04:25It is still $3 back of L.A.
04:27But that gap has actually tightened a little bit from the preseason numbers
04:31and the differentiating price the Dodgers had just so short
04:34in comparison to every other club around Major League Baseball.
