Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Dodgers Announce Surprising Lineup Change Ahead of Yankees Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zach Kaplan | Last updated May 30, 2025 7:18 PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees square off for a three-game series at Chavez Ravine beginning Friday, in what promises to be one of the most talent-loaded in-season matchups of the year.

The Yankees, who were embarrassed by the Dodgers in five games in the Fall Classic last year, clearly have had this series marked on their calendar as their first opportunity to exact revenge on their new rivals.

With the Yankees' acquisitions of Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, this series promised the first ever game in MLB history with both teams having three former MVPs.

However, ahead of the Dodgers' long awaited Friday against the Yankees, they announced a surprising omission from their lineup.

Infielder and 2018 MVP Mookie Betts was absent from the Dodgers' starting lineup, per MLB.com's Sonja Chen.

The rest of the lineup rounded out as expected, with Shohei Ohtani leading it off, and Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman representing the bulk of the order.

Friday's game would be just the second game out of 55 games this season that Betts would miss. Betts has appeared in every game since March 29, when he was sidelined by a stomach virus that caused him to lose 20 pounds.

The reason for Betts' absence remains unknown, but it could simply be gamesmanship on the part of Dave Roberts, as Betts has hit to a .641 OPS and .204 average against lefties.

Potential Cy Young candidate lefty Max Fried takes the mound for the Yankees in Hollywood tonight.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: