Yankees vs. Dodgers: What’s Happening and Why Goldschmidt Is Sitting Out

What’s Going On With the Yankees and Dodgers?

Imagine two big baseball teams playing a series of games against each other. On Sunday afternoon, the New York Yankees played the second game of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Bronx (that’s the part of New York City where the Yankees play).

Here’s what we know:

• The Yankees lost to the Dodgers on Friday night by a score of 2-1.
• In that Friday game, a Yankees player named Paul Goldschmidt (he wears number 48) was walked on purpose once and struck out twice.
  • Walk: The pitcher throws balls outside the strike zone so the batter goes to first base safely.
  • Strikeout: The batter misses the ball three times and is out.
• UPDATE: The Yankees lost the first game on Sunday (Game 1) by a score of 8-2.
• UPDATE: Goldschmidt is back in the lineup for Sunday night’s game.

Important Point: Even though Goldschmidt was not in the afternoon game on Sunday, he returned for the night game the same day.

Yankees Make a Goldschmidt Change

For Sunday afternoon’s game, the Yankees told everyone who would start. Here is the starting lineup they announced (shared by Underdog MLB):

1. T. Grisham – CF (Center Field)
2. B. Rice – 1B (First Base)
3. J. Domínguez – DH (Designated Hitter, only bats)
4. C. Bellinger – LF (Left Field)
5. M. Schuemann – RF (Right Field)
6. J. Chisholm Jr. – 2B (Second Base)
7. A. Volpe – SS (Shortstop)
8. R. McMahon – 3B (Third Base)
9. A. Sánchez – C (Catcher)
   • Starting Pitcher (SP): C. Schlittler

• Goldschmidt was not in the lineup for Sunday afternoon.
• So far this season (in 69 games), Goldschmidt has:
  • A batting average of .255 (this means he gets a hit about 25.5% of the time he bats)
  • 62 hits
  • 15 home runs (hitting the ball out of the park)
  • 42 RBIs (Runs Batted In: he helped 42 runs score)
  • 32 runs scored by himself
  • 1 stolen base (running to the next base safely when the ball isn’t hit)

He is a seven-time MLB All-Star (that means he was one of the best players in the league seven times). This is his second year playing for New York.

Important Point: Even though Goldschmidt will turn 39 years old in September, he has still been a very helpful player for the Yankees this year.

Before joining the Yankees, Goldschmidt played for:

• The Arizona Diamondbacks
• The St. Louis Cardinals

He has played 16 seasons in MLB (Major League Baseball, the top baseball league in the U.S.).

Yankees Right Now

Let’s look at how the Yankees are doing:

• They are in second place in the American League East (one of the groups of teams in the league).
• Their record is 54 wins and 43 losses in 97 games.
• In their last 10 games, they won 5 and lost 5.
• At home (in the Bronx), they are 23 wins and 21 losses in 44 games.
• On Monday night, they will stay in the Bronx to play the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dodgers Right Now

Now, the Dodgers:

• They are in first place in the National League West.
• Their record is 62 wins and 36 losses in 98 games.
• On the road (playing away from home), they are 31 wins and 17 losses in 48 games.
• After playing the Yankees, they will stay on the road and visit Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.

Summary

To wrap it up:

• The Yankees and Dodgers played a series in the Bronx.
• The Yankees lost Friday (2-1) and Sunday’s first game (8-2).
• Goldschmidt sat out Sunday afternoon but was back Sunday night.
• The Yankees are 54-43 (second in their division); the Dodgers are 62-36 (first in theirs).
• Next up: Yankees host the Pirates; Dodgers visit the Phillies.

FAQ

Q: What does "batting average of .255" mean?
A: It means that out of all the times Goldschmidt batted, he got a hit about 25.5% of the time. It’s a simple way to see how good a hitter is.

Q: Why wasn’t Goldschmidt in the Sunday afternoon lineup?
A: The Yankees just decided to use a different lineup for that game. He came back for the night game.

Q: What is an All-Star?
A: An All-Star is a player chosen as one of the best in the league to play in a special game. Goldschmidt has been picked seven times!

Q: What does "series" mean in baseball?
A: It’s when two teams play several games against each other in a row, usually at the same field.