The host Los Angeles Dodgers have the momentum, but the New York Yankees have the incentive when the two teams with the best records in baseball meet for the first time since 2016 in a three-game series that opens Friday night. Left-handers Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-3, 1.64 ERA) of the Dodgers and James Paxton (9-6, 4.53) of the Yankees are slated to duel in a rare regular-season head-to-head matchup of franchises that have met 11 times in the World Series, with New York prevailing on eight of those occasions. The Dodgers (85-44) have moved into the fast lane in their attempt to finish with the best record in the National League and thus clinch home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.