2019 MLB Schedule: Dodgers Fly East for the Summer

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays: August 20-22

Some of the most interesting matchups in a given season are the ones played between teams that rarely see each other. You’ll find that multiple matchups I go on to mention are between the Dodgers and AL East pennant chasers.

What you may not know is why.

The Dodgers and Blue Jays last faced each other in May of 2016, where the Dodgers won two out of three of the games at Rogers Center. After the Jays took game 1, Kershaw outdueled R.A. Dickey for game 2, and then rallied late to win game 3 and take the series win.

Since then, both teams have had varying levels of postseason success. The Dodgers won (at least) two division titles and one pennant, and the Jays won the 2016 AL Wild Card, eventually losing to the dominant Cleveland Indians in the ALCS.

The Blue Jays find themselves in a crossroads spot this winter where they could jettison a few players and end up in a rebuild cycle along with the free agents upcoming, or they could use the financial space they currently have to really go for it in 2019. That makes the matchup all the more exciting.

This series is important for two reasons. The first one is because it takes place right in the middle of the 2019 pennant race, something both teams could find themselves in. The second reason is that, simply, it’s fun. This is going to be a fun series to watch in LA, and it’s going to be meaningful for both teams involved.

 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the NL Central: April 2019

In April, the Dodgers will face every NL Central team over the course of the month, both at home and on the road. They will fly to Wrigley and will stay home to play the Pirates. The NL Central is just one division, but it is an increasingly strong division. Though April’s games are far less high leverage than those played in September, the Dodgers are going to have to get off to a stellar start and play well against the Reds, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, and Cardinals.

Out of the last 5 seasons that the Dodgers have been in the playoffs, the team has faced off with an NL Central team in 4 out of the last 5 seasons. Also, outside of the Giants (ugh!), the last two teams to win the World Series from the National League were from the NL Central.

Who knows what these teams will look like in 8 months, but using this year’s observations, each and every team in that division is going to have a shot at the title. If they don’t, they should at least have some very exciting players to watch.

The Cubs and Dodgers are perennial contenders, making it all the more important that the Boys in Blue play well while visiting the Friendly Confines, because it could be another early, yet not unrealistic potential postseason matchup.

With some big spending expected from a couple of the NL Central teams this winter, there could be some remade teams to face off against in April, and with new guys in the clubhouse, April may end up being the best time to face them!

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees: August 23-25

Well, this will be fun, to say the least. The Yankees and the Dodgers are historic rivals, almost as much as the Dodgers and the Giants. This feud, however, is about which powerhouse reigns supreme at a given time. It’s about two of the most historic teams in the game. It is, without question, one of the most vintage and most powerful rivalries in sports.

The Yankees and Dodgers hooked up 11 times in the World Series over the years. Between 1941 and 1963, many in baseball viewed the Fall Classic as the Yankees and Dodgers time to hook up each year, as they played 8 Series over 23 seasons.

And the Yankees are returning to LA in 2019, to show just how great these two teams can be when facing each other.

These teams could change a lot by the time this series rolls around. The only thing that seems sure is that Giancarlo Stanton will be there, due to his massive contract. Everything else is TBD.

The Yankees have had some postseason success over the past five years, but not as much as the Dodgers. That said, the Yankees seem to be stronger than the Dodgers this year, and if it weren’t for the Red Sox, they’d be running away with first place in the east.

Keep this series in the back of your mind until it arrives, for it is bound to be a great one.

Dodgers vs. Red Sox: July 12-14

Alright, I am not even going to try and hide my excitement for this series. Though I am a wildly enthusiastic Dodger fan, I also root for the Sox, and can’t wait to see my two favorite teams battle it out, at one of the most gorgeous, and historic stadiums in the world, no less.

It’s no secret that the Red Sox are making headlines this season. They currently boast a 90-42 record, even after having lost three in a row to the third-place Rays. Chris Sale has been utterly dominant, and J.D Martinez is hitting home runs faster than even the computer can count.

Like the Yankees, when these teams face each other, it’s a battle of two powerhouses. However, unlike the Yankees, these teams don’t have nearly as deep of a history. They have only faced each other once in postseason play, in the 1916 World Series, in which the Sox won, four games to one.

That season, Wally Pipp lead all of baseball in home runs, with 12.

The game has changed drastically since that World Series over 100 years ago, but these two teams are still fated for October, whether it be this season or the next.

It should be a very exciting 2019 for the Dodgers!