Coming off a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday, July 17, the Los Angeles Dodgers had an unexpected off day on Saturday, July 18.

Now, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to take the mound for game one of the doubleheader. Manager Dave Roberts feels more comfortable going with Yamamoto against Yankees' ace Cam Schlittler in game one.

Schlittler is 9-5 with a stellar 2.05 ERA. He's coming off his first All-Star appearance while Yamamoto has made it in each of his last two seasons with the Dodgers.

As for the second game, it's easy to speculate Emmet Sheehan will pitch for the Dodgers, seeing as that's who Yamamoto replaced in game one. For what it's worth, the Yankees are also keeping their game two starter a secret.

Game one of the doubleheader features a monstrous pitching showdown, one fans could potentially see again in October. A Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series rematch isn't out of the question, even though the Yankees aren't currently winning their division.

The American League is extremely weak this year, and Schlittler has been dominant against every batter that faces him. His 2.05 ERA is second in all of baseball while his 0.94 WHIP is good for third.

Coincidentally, Yamamoto has the second best WHIP in the MLB at 0.91. His 2.85 ERA puts him at 13th though, but his 9-6 record rivals that of the 25-year-old.

Seeing as each team already had another day off, the bullpen's will be extremely fresh, but these pitchers have a tendency to pitch deep into games. Schlittler has gone six or more innings in four of his last starts while Yamamoto hasn't gone fewer than 6.0 since seven starts ago on Sunday, May 31.

The Dodgers will obviously get to call up another player for the doubleheader, and 99% of the time teams use that advantage to bring up a fresh arm. There are no real starting candidates that aren't already on the roster, especially since Roki Sasaki is the only player LA has started since coming back from the All-Star break.

Should Sheehan's name be called upon, he would be facing the Yankees for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old has been on the rise here in 2026, but he's dealing with a cold stretch as he's just 1-5 in his last seven starts. Game two could turn into a potential bullpen game for the Dodgers if things go south with Sheehan.

But, at the very least, everyone has had ample rest, and the Dodgers only used three relievers in their lone game back thus far.

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