Sasaki vs Manaea: Dodgers-Mets Pitching Matchup at Citi Field

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened a three-game road series at Citi Field on Friday, July 24, 2026, sending right-hander Roki Sasaki to face Mets left-hander Sean Manaea in a pitching matchup that carries weight beyond the standings gap between these two clubs.

Los Angeles entered the series at 65-38, first in the NL West. New York sat at 43-60, fifth in the NL East. The Dodgers had already swept the Mets in April, outscoring them 14-3 across three games at Dodger Stadium results that, according to Baseball-Reference, show scores of 4-0, 2-1, and 8-2. This weekend is the first rematch since that series.

Sasaki and Manaea: The Friday Setup

The official MLB probable-pitcher page lists Roki Sasaki at 3-5 with a 4.98 ERA and 85 strikeouts entering Friday. Those numbers understate where he is right now.

His last start, on July 17 at Yankee Stadium, produced 5.2 innings of one run unearned against a lineup that had been scoring freely heading into the All-Star break. More striking, Sasaki threw 21 pitches at 100 miles per hour or above in that outing, breaking the previous Dodgers record of 20 set by Bobby Miller in the Statcast era dating to 2008. His average fastball on the night was 100.1 mph, a career best as a starter. Velocity at that level, sustained into the sixth inning, is a different pitcher from the one the ERA reflects.

The same MLB probable-pitcher page lists Sean Manaea at 2-5 with a 4.74 ERA and 81 strikeouts entering Friday. According to the official MLB game preview, this is Manaea's first start against the Dodgers since Game 6 of the 2024 NLCS a postseason meeting that ended with Los Angeles advancing to the World Series.

Baseball-Reference lists Saturday's Game 2 for 7:15 p.m. ET and Sunday's series finale for 1:40 p.m. ET.

Injuries Reshaping Both Sides

The Dodgers are carrying a significant injury list into Flushing. Catcher Will Smith was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 21 with neck inflammation, per the official MLB Dodgers injury page. Shohei Ohtani is managing left knee soreness and threw a bullpen session on July 22. Ohtani, who drove a 432-foot three-run homer against the Athletics in late June, remains in the lineup while the Dodgers monitor his knee rather than shut him down. Edwin Díaz is rehabbing after treatment for loose bodies in his right elbow, and Blake Snell is on a rehab assignment for a similar issue in his left elbow.

The Mets have their own absences. Mark Vientos was placed on the 10-day IL on July 10 with a right-hand fracture. Austin Warren went on the 15-day IL on July 8 with a right forearm strain. Clay Holmes began a rehab assignment on July 18, and Dedniel Núñez followed on July 19, per official Mets transaction records.

New York is also managing issues off the field. The Mets dismissed manager Carlos Mendoza on June 26 after a 34-47 start and named Andy Green as interim manager. The team has added nine wins since the change but remains outside any realistic playoff discussion.

A 22-Game Gap and What It Means for Each Side

A 22-game difference in the standings is wide by any measure. The Dodgers have the best record in the National League. The Mets, at 43-60, are 17 games below . 500 a deficit that leaves them at the bottom of the NL East with no credible path to October.

That separation shapes what this series is for each team. Los Angeles arrives in Queens having already established dominance in the 2026 season series and can extend it, Dave Roberts has reshuffled his lineup multiple times in recent weeks to manage fatigue and match hitters against opposing arms, and that rotation management will continue through this stretch. Sasaki's July 17 performance zero earned runs with 21 pitches at 100 mph or above gives the rotation a specific reason for confidence that the ERA had not.

For the Mets, the series is an evaluation exercise. Clay Holmes and Dedniel Núñez returning from rehab assignments could give the bullpen a different look in August than it has now, which matters more than the outcome of any single series for a team in New York's position.

Series Schedule

TV listings confirmed via the official MLB Dodgers probable-pitcher page, which lists WPIX and SportsNet LA for Game 1, and Game 3 on SNY and SportsNet LA per multiple broadcast sources.

Juan Soto Against a Sasaki Fastball

Juan Soto is the Mets' most dangerous offensive threat and the player whose at-bats against Sasaki will draw the most scrutiny across three games. As a left-handed hitter, he has faced Los Angeles pitching in the postseason and produced in pressure situations before.

The tactical question this series presents is specific: Sasaki, when operating at the velocity levels he showed at Yankee Stadium, generates a fastball that sits at or above 100 mph with late rise. Whether Soto can lay off that pitch high in the zone or put it in play productively is one of the genuine individual matchups in the series. His plate discipline drawing walks at an elite rate throughout his career is the most likely tool for navigating it.

Three games at Citi Field, against a Dodgers club that already outscored them 14-3 in April, gives the Mets and their home crowd a concrete target. The trade deadline arrives August 3, and what both rosters look like after that date may depend partly on what happens this weekend.