Hanley Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox will be making a trip to Dodger Stadium on the weekend of Aug. 5-7, 2016 as part of the Dodgers’ interleague schedule next season that is likely to be played against the A.L. East.
ESPN reports that the Red Sox will be hosting the Rockies (May 24-26) in a rematch of the 2007 World Series (Boston swept in four games), and also the Diamondbacks (Aug. 12-14). They will play a home-and-home series with the Giants (June 7-8 in San Francisco; July 19-20 in Boston). And then visit the Dodgers and Padres (Sept. 5-7).
In 2015 the Dodgers play an interleague schedule against the A.L. West, which followed matchups with the A.L. Central in 2014 and A.L. East in 2013.
It means that the Dodgers are likely to play the Angels twice at home and twice in Anaheim, followed by four three-game series against the assigned interleague division and a home-and-home series (two games each) against the fifth team.
We can assure you of the one team the Dodgers will not be splitting the four games with, and that’s the Yankees, the team they split with in 2013.
When the Dodgers played the East in 2013, they hosted the Rays (3-0), Red Sox (1-2) and Yankees (1-1), and visited the Blue Jays (3-0), Orioles (1-2) and Yankees (1-1).
Trying to Piece Together the Puzzle
So the Dodgers can’t be playing the Yankees or Red Sox, as they split with New York in 2013, and Boston is known to be splitting with San Francisco already.
Let’s have a look at those splits from 2013:
- Arizona and Tampa Bay (Diamondbacks won 3-1)
- Colorado and Boston (Red Sox won 3-1)
- San Diego and Baltimore (Teams split 2-2)
- San Francisco and Toronto (Blue Jays won 3-1)
Storylines likely play a big factor in the pairings. We had the historic matchup between the Dodgers and Yankees. Then the two latest expansion teams (Diamondbacks and Rays), and the aforementioned 2007 World Series rematch.
Looking at the 2010 schedule one would assume that with the Dodgers hosting the Yankees then, they’ll likely visit the Bronx in 2016. Which gives light to Boston visiting Dodger Stadium. Their last series was played at Fenway Park.
It can’t be Toronto because the teams split in 2007 (literally, they split all six games at three apiece). And they’ll likely host the Blue Jays as they visited Rogers Centre in 2004 (1-2) and 2013.
So that leaves two. The Orioles last visited Dodger Stadium in 2004, when they were swept. The Dodgers visited Camden Yards in 2013, where they went 1-2.
But the reason it won’t be Baltimore is because there is a stronger storyline, and that’s with the Rays, pitting the team that Dodgers president Andrew Friedman built against the one he now is building.
In 2007 the Rays took two games from the Dodgers at Tropicana Field before getting swept at Dodger Stadium.
It has to be Tampa Bay, with the Dodgers splitting with Baltimore in 2019.
A Prediction for the Interleague Schedule
Later on we’ll revisit this, but it seems like a safe bet to predict the following:
Dodgers will host the:
- Baltimore Orioles
- Boston Red Sox (set)
Dodgers will visit the:
- New York Yankees
- Toronto Blue Jays
Dodgers will split with the:
- Anaheim Angels
- Tampa Bay Rays
I adjusted the Blue Jays prediction knowing that the Red Sox were guaranteed to be playing the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium already, and factoring in that the clubs split six games in 2007, while the Orioles haven’t been to Dodger Stadium in (what will be) 12 years.
Then you have the matchup of the Friedman teams in Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.
Fans can make travel arrangements to see the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium as they renew their rivalry.
What do you say, fans? Do you agree with these predictions?
Dodgers fans outside the Los Angeles area shouldn’t let location stop them from seeing a game at Dodger Stadium. Hipmunk.com has flights to and from Los Angeles, along with Los Angeles hotels starting from $51. Hipmunk also has three other options starting from less than $100 per night.
