Yoshinobu Yamamoto is off to a fantastic start, having given up only three earned runs in his first four starts of the season. His 1.23 ERA is the second-best in the National League, and the league is hitting a paltry .171 against him. In the Dodgers’ opener against the Rangers Friday night in Texas, he will match up against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, coming back from the Tommy John surgery he had in 2023.
DeGrom has been one of the most talented pitchers in baseball over his 11-year career, but has been extremely limited by injuries, and has not made over fifteen starts since 2019. So far in 2025, he has made three starts to the tune of a 4.30 ERA, having given up 13 hits, six walks, and 4 home runs in 14⅔ innings, numbers far below his normal standard.
The Dodgers their season with eight consecutive victories, but then suffered through a sloppy streak when they lost six out of nine games. They apparently have righted the ship by sweeping their last three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.
With the season only 20 games old, the Dodgers have already faced two Cy Young Award winners (Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale), as well as a top-three finisher in Aaron Nola. They have won all three of those games.
The Rangers sit atop the American League West with a 12-7 record, despite a minus-11 run differential, and an anemic offense averaging only 3.3 runs per game. Like the Dodgers, they have won three games in a row. Corey Seager leads their offense, hitting .306 with four homers.
Friday game info
- Teams: Dodgers vs Rangers
- Stadium: Globe Life Field
- Start time: 5:05 PM PST
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
