Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers enter play Saturday at 15-4, riding a four-game winning streak and sitting with the best record in baseball. In the eyes of many, it’s where the defending World Series champions were expected to be even without the likes of Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández and Blake Snell, among others.
The Dodgers to this point have yet to lose back-to-back games in the 2026 season and are a perfect 10-0 against National League teams. They also have put themselves in a rare category with three other reigning World Series champions, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
The 1906 and 1922 New York Giants, along with the 1928 New York Yankees also started their respective seasons with a 15-4 record. But perhaps most encouraging for the 2026 Dodgers, two of the three prior instances ended in a World Series title that year as well.
The Dodgers’ 15-4 record is tied for the most wins through 19 games by a reigning World Series champion, with:
1928 Yankees
1922 Giants
1906 Giantsh/t @EliasSports https://t.co/tZWuEg6ynH
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 18, 2026
Ironically, the 1922 Giants swept the Yankees to capture the World Series that season. The 1928 Yankees then swept the St. Louis Cardinals to capture a third title in a row.
Of the three other defending World Series champions to start the season 15-4, only the 1922 Giants improved on that mark by getting to 18 wins before their fifth loss.
The 1906 Giants suffered back-to-back losses after their 15-4 start to the season, and the 1928 Yankees dropped their 20th game.
The Dodgers are in good position to improve on their record with three more games against the Rockies before facing the San Francisco Giants on the back leg of the road trip.
L.A. finds themselves on pace to produce a similar result as the 2021 regular season. They posted the best regular-season record by a defending champion in the divisional era (since 1969) that year as they finished 106-56 (.654 winning percentage). But their year ended with a loss to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series.
The Dodgers also had their streak of NL West titles snapped that season due to the San Francisco Giants producing a remarkable 107-win season. That made the Dodgers the 11th 100-win team not to finish in first place of their division, and they had the most wins by any Wild Card team in MLB history.
PECOTA projected the Dodgers to have the best record in baseball this year at 103-59. The Dodgers have not reached 100 wins since the 2023 season, and last exceed 103 when they went 111-51 in 2022.
Dodgers can make National League history
In 2025 the Dodgers became the first NL team to win back-to-back World Series titles since the Cincinnati Reds achieved the feat 1975-76. Now the Dodgers can further cement their dynasty with a championship in 2026.
No NL team in MLB history has won three consecutive World Series titles. Overall, the Yankees are the last team to three-peat when they did so from 1998-2000. That also had been the last time MLB had a repeat champion before the Dodgers from 2024-25.
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