When the schedule came out, this weekend certainly seemed to be a likely World Series preview in The Bronx.
After all, the Yankees added Juan Soto, while the Dodgers — who start a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday — were even bolder in the offseason.
They beat out the Yankees — and Mets — for Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signed Shohei Ohtani away from the Angels and traded with the Rays for Tyler Glasnow.
And while the Dodgers will come to New York comfortably in first place in an NL West in which they are the only team above .500, they have yet to look like the juggernaut many expected following their winter bonanza.
The Yankees, meanwhile, entered their series finale against the Twins having won seven straight games and featuring a 1-2 punch in Soto and Aaron Judge that may actually be exceeding the enormous expectations that were placed on them.
They’ve also done it without the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Gerrit Cole, who figures to make his season debut later this month after being sidelined since spring training with an elbow injury.
Still, having the Dodgers come to town will at least be a good test for a Yankee team that is rolling over some weak competition.
They haven’t played a series against a team with a winning record since they split a four-game set with Seattle from May 20-23.
Starting with the series with the Dodgers, the Yankees are due to face five straight teams that entered Thursday with at least an even record, with games against Kansas City, Boston, Baltimore and Atlanta following Los Angeles.
As for the Dodgers, they recently went through a five-game losing streak and dropped the first two games in Pittsburgh, their final series before heading to New York.
Ohtani, limited to DH duties this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, trails only Judge and Soto in OPS at .989, but he entered Thursday in a bit of a rut with just four extra-base hits in his previous 15 games.
Mookie Betts is also having an excellent season, but like Ohtani, has hit a rough patch offensively, with a .678 OPS over his previous 29 games.
Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers for 12 years and $325 million after the right-hander shunned the Yankees’ 10-year, $300 million offer.
“I felt we were very much in the mix,’’ Aaron Boone said of the Yankees’ pursuit of Yamamoto. “There was never a thought that we were gonna get him or that I didn’t think we were gonna get him.”
Gerrit Cole said he was “hopeful” they would land Yamamoto, but he’d heard he preferred a different spot.
“I wasn’t super-surprised when he didn’t sign with us,’’ Cole said of the 25-year-old.
The owner of the richest contract ever given to a starting pitcher — beating Cole by $1 million — has been solid, but not spectacular, with a 3.32 ERA over a dozen starts.
And in his last four outings, Yamamoto has a 4.30 ERA.
Between the arrival of Yamamoto and Ohtani for the first time as Dodgers — as well as the Yankees being the hottest team in the league, Boone said the Stadium should feature “an amazing atmosphere. Both teams are really good with a lot of star players. It’ll be a pretty special environment.’’
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