Los Angeles is 34-22, two games ahead of the San Diego Padres and three games free of the San Francisco Giants with the Arizona Diamondbacks lurking at seven games behind. The Yankees on the other hand are 6.5 games clear of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays, 7.5 up on the Toronto Blue Jays and 9.5 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what’s trending up and what’s trending down in sports. This week we’re talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers, the sport of baseball and who is really America’s team.

The highly anticipated series starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium and will feature three games between the teams who faced off in last year's Fall Classic. Starting Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Dodgers (34-22) will look to snap out of a disappointing stretch over the last 10 games, where they've gone just 5-5.