(Photo credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)

The New York Mets return home for the first time since the All-Star break, starting a three-game series Friday with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

What many expected to be a possible playoff preview will be anything but that between the two largest payrolls in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers roll into Queens winning four of their last six, as the consensus favorites to win a third straight World Series hold a comfortable lead in the National League West.

'Every team has its ups and downs,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after their 9-5 road win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. 'I will say that we're trying to stack wins, trying to win series. ... We do find ways to win.'

Meanwhile, the Mets sit last in the NL East, having not recovered from a 12-game losing streak in April that included three losses to the Dodgers. New York has split its last six games.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (3-5, 4.98 ERA) gets his first matchup against the Mets. Los Angeles has posted wins in his last three starts, but Sasaki last earned a win of his own two months ago. The right-hander is 0-2 in his last eight appearances.

Sasaki, 24, last pitched last Friday in the Bronx. He allowed an unearned run on five hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings to the New York Yankees as the Dodgers won 2-1.

Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.74) will start for the Mets. Last Saturday, the host Phillies tagged him for four runs on seven hits and two walks. The left-hander, 34, did strike out seven in 4 2/3 innings, but he still earned the loss in the 6-1 game.

The Dodgers have hit well against the veteran of 11 seasons. In 11 games, including eight starts, Manaea has a 1-5 record with an ERA of 7.09 across 47 innings against them. He's given up 57 hits and 14 walks against 42 strikeouts.

Friday will be Manaea's first game against the Dodgers since April 19, 2024. He allowed just two runs over five innings but ended up not getting a decision as the Mets won 9-4 on the road.

Kyle Tucker has struggled in his first season with the Dodgers, and the outfielder has just two hits in 19 at-bats (.105) in his last five games. However, he's hit .364 (8-for-22) against Manaea with four home runs and five RBIs.

While the Mets have struggled, one bright spot has been outfielder Juan Soto. The team's lone All-Star this season, Soto leads the squad with a .283 batting average, 21 home runs and 52 RBIs. He also tops the NL in on-base percentage (.404) and ranks second in the league in on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.944).

New York gave Soto the day off Wednesday as it wrapped up the road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He experienced some soreness in his left calf earlier in the trip, and interim manager Andy Green wanted to use that day and Thursday's off day to let the team's slugger recover from the nagging injury that put him on the injured list back in April.

'At this point in time, we'd like him playing the rest of the season as healthy as possible,' Green said.

--Field Level Media