Yankees’ Interleague Schedule Sets Up World Series Rematches for New York
June 21, 2010 · Lucas Weick · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
The Yankees are right in the middle of their interleague games this season and are heading west to play the D-Backs and Dodgers, two former World Series opponents.
Their last two series have been against the Mets and Phillies, who were also in the World Series against the Bombers.
The Phils and Yanks faced off last October, with the Yankees winning the series four games to two for their unprecedented 27th championship. But it was the Phillies who took the three-game series this year.
The final installment of this year’s Subway Series brought the Mets to Yankee Stadium, and both teams had first place in sight heading into this weekend.
The Mets won the first game, but the Yankees would go on to win the final two games of the series and thus take the top spot in the AL East away from the Rays.
This was also one of the few years that the Subway Series has had a lot of meaning for both teams at the same time, probably one of the most anticipated matchups between the Mets and Yanks since the 2000 Fall Classic.
Now in first place, the Yankees can look forward to a few more World Series rematches out west.
Starting tonight, the Bombers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in a rematch from that memorable 2001 World Series.
Arizona snapped the Yankees’ stretch of three straight World Series titles that year, but the regular season matchups between the two have been owned by the Yankees, who have won seven of the nine games against the D-Backs since 2001.
After their stop in the desert, the Bombers head to the West Coast for a long awaited and much anticipated series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This is a big series for several reasons, the main reason being that it will be the first time the Yankees will take on their former skipper Joe Torre.
The Dodgers also have a legendary “Yankee killer” by the name of Manny Ramirez, who the Yankees are not that excited to see, I’m sure.
But the history between the Yankees and Dodgers goes back much further than Torre and Manny.
The two iconic franchises have met in the World Series 11 times, more than any other AL and NL teams in the history of the Fall Classic.
Their first meeting was in 1941, while the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, and the Yankees took the series four games to one.
In fact, the Yanks won the first five World Series matchups between the two. It wasn’t until 1955 that the Dodgers beat the Yankees.
Don Larsen threw the only no-hitter in postseason history against the Dodgers on October 8, 1956 in game 5 of the World Series, and the Yankees won the title in seven games.
The Dodgers moved to L.A. in 1958 and swept the aging Yankees for the 1963 World Series crown behind the strong pitching of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.
The rivalry was renewed in the 1977 Fall Classic. The Dodgers looked like they were going to win it, but Reggie Jackson sealed the deal with his three home runs in Game Six, thus earning the nickname Mr. October.
The Yanks beat L.A. again in ’78, and the Yankees had won back-to-back titles for the first time since 1961 and ’62.
The Dodgers finally got their revenge in 1981, beating the Yankees four games to two in the last meeting between the rivals.
In 2004 the two met up in an interleague matchup for the first time, and the Dodgers won two out of the three games in the most recent non-exhibition games between New York and L.A.
So the looming series out in Los Angeles has a lot more behind it than just the reunion between the Yankees and their former manager Joe Torre and nemesis Manny Ramirez.
Overall, this year’s interleague slate for the Yankees has been interesting and challenging, and you can expect nothing less from the final two series against old NL rivals.
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