Yankees show they aren't close to Dodgers' level with blowout loss

Once again, the New York Yankees proved they're nowhere near the Los Angeles Dodgers' weight class.

On Saturday, the Yankees were blown out in the second game of their three-game road series against the Dodgers, 18-2.

Los Angeles also won Friday's series opener, 8-5, in the teams' first game since last year's World Series, which the Dodgers won in five games. 

With the consecutive losses, the gap between the two franchises hasn't shrunk. If anything, it's only gotten more cavernous.

Saturday's game was over almost as soon as it began. 

The Dodgers raced out to a 10-0 lead after two innings. Shohei Ohtani, hitting leadoff, had three at-bats before Yankees catcher Austin Wells, New York's No. 7 hitter, stepped to the plate for the first time.

The Dodgers are 8-2 in their last 10 games (including postseason) against the Yankees, dating back to last regular season and have averaged 6.8 runs per game.

Los Angeles tattooed Yankees starting pitchers Max Fried and Will Warren in the first two games of the current three-game set.

Fried entered Friday's loss with a 1.29 earned run average (ERA) but was dinged for a season-high six runs in five innings, giving up eight hits (also a season-high) while only striking out three Dodgers batters.

Warren was even worse, being pulled after just 1.1 innings. He allowed seven earned runs, walking four and giving up six hits in 14 batters faced while throwing nearly as many balls (28) as strikes (29).

He entered Saturday with a 4.09 ERA this season but was red-hot in his four most recent starts, going 2-0 and posting a 2.05 ERA with 33 strikeouts and five walks in 22 innings during that span.

Warren, like Fried, was no match for the Dodgers' lineup. For the Yankees, who lost ace Gerrit Cole earlier this season after he underwent Tommy John surgery, their pitching woes against Los Angeles are a legitimate concern.

If New York successfully defends its AL pennant, its best bet at winning a World Series might be for another NL team to knock out the defending champions. The Yankees certainly can't expect to topple the Dodgers as currently constructed.

For a franchise that isn't used to taking a backseat to anyone, that should be a sobering reality check. The Yankees are leagues behind the Dodgers, and it becomes more and more clear whenever they meet.