Dodgers Lineup vs Mets: Max Muncy Out, Miguel Rojas Starting

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets play their first of three games at Citi Field on Friday night in Queens.

The two teams met at Dodger Stadium way back in April, with LA sweeping the series and outscoring New York, 14-3.

That series was a sign of things to come, as the Dodgers hold the best record in baseball at 65-38, and the Mets are baseball's most disappointing team at 43-60.

The Mets are getting ready to sell off at the deadline, and this weekend against the Dodgers should be a good audition for all of the players they're fielding calls on. If their guys play well against the Dodgers this weekend, they surely could be of use to teams come October, right?

Dodgers vs Mets Pitching Matchup on Friday

Right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki is taking the mound for the Dodgers in the series opener coming off arguably his most promising start at the big league level.

Sasaki faced the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last week, allowing one unearned run over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. Most impressively, he threw 21 pitches of at least 100 mph, the most by a Dodger in the pitch tracking era (since 2008).

Dodgers RHP Roki Sasaki with a very promising outing against the Yankees:

5.2 IP
5 H
0 ER (1 R)
1 BB
5 K
94 pitches/16 whiffs

He averaged 100.1 mph on his fastball and touched 101.8. He showcased pinpoint command.

A step in the right direction. pic.twitter.com/cugNDXr0d1
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) July 18, 2026

Overall this season, Sasaki has a 4.98 ERA across 86.2 innings with 85 strikeouts to 34 walks. If he's pitching with the same velocity he showed last week, he could turn into a real weapon down the stretch for LA.

Opposite Sasaki will be Mets left-hander Sean Manaea, who opened the season in the bullpen before transitioning to the rotation in June.

In his 14 appearances as a reliever this season, he had a 5.02 ERA across 43 innings with 45 strikeouts and five home runs allowed.

In his seven starts since, he has a 4.42 ERA across 36.2 innings with 36 strikeouts and seven home runs allowed.

Dodgers Starting Lineup

Shohei Ohtani, DH
Andy Pages, CF
Tommy Edman, 3B
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Mookie Betts, SS
Miguel Rojas, 2B
Kyle Tucker, RF
Teoscar Hernández, LF
Dalton Rushing, C

Max Muncy is out of the lineup, with Rojas starting at second base and Edman at third base against the left-handed pitcher.

How to Watch Dodgers vs Mets on Friday

First pitch for Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets on Friday, July 24 is 4:10 p.m. PT/7:10 p.m. ET.

The game will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.

The game will be broadcast on the radio on AM570 (in English) and KTNQ 1020 AM (in Spanish).

Add us as a preferred source on Google