As Dodgers face Blue Jays in World Series, key matchups, storylines, prediction and more

By Fabian Ardaya, Mitch Bannon, Eno Saris and Katie Woo

Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers will soon be on their way to Toronto, where the reigning World Series champions will look to defeat the ascendant Blue Jays and become baseball’s first repeat winners in a quarter century. For the Blue Jays, it will be their first time in the Fall Classic since the second of their back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, and a chance to make up for past failures in an era of the franchise headed by superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The two franchises have competed for premium free agents in recent winters, from Toronto’s dogged pursuit of Ohtani to its maneuvering to land Roki Sasaki out of the international market before each wound up in Los Angeles. Their lone head-to-head in the regular season also featured some premium moments, with the Dodgers taking the first two of a three-game set before the Blue Jays rallied late — headlined by a late Ernie Clement home run — in the finale in one of the more memorable games of the regular season.

The Dodgers are chasing history, and a potential dynasty, with a rotation that has performed as well as any in recent postseason memory. They will be tasked with facing a lineup that applies constant pressure and balls in play, striking out at the lowest rate in the sport. This international set will provide plenty of flavour and spice.

Tale of the tape

The 2025 World Series will be a battle of heavyweights, with each club representing big markets, with the accompanying deep pockets. Look no further than the payroll carried by each club and the hardware collected by the players on the projected rosters. The Blue Jays and Dodgers collectively have earned 73 All-Star selections, nine Cy Young Awards and six MVP awards — though all of the latter belong to the Dodgers.

TeamsBlue JaysDodgers

Payroll

$278.8m (5)

$415.2m (1)

World titles

2

8

Pennants

3

26

MVPs

0

6

Cy Youngs

4

5

All-Stars

28

45

Game times

All times ET.

Game 1, Friday: at Toronto, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 2, Saturday: at Toronto, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 3, Monday: at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 4, Tuesday: at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 5*, Wednesday: at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 6*, Friday, Oct. 31: at Toronto, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)
Game 7*, Saturday, Nov. 1: at Toronto, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox Deportes, Sportsnet)

* – if necessary

Eno’s edge

Who’s got the edge?

Key AreaEdge

Rotation

Bullpen

Power

Contact

Defense

The Dodgers’ rotation is garnering comparisons to those 90s Braves teams that sent three dudes to the Hall of Fame, so that’s a clear edge for them. The Blue Jays made more contact than any team in the regular season or postseason and was clearly one of the three best defensive teams all year, so that’s two clear edges for them. Toronto has hit for more power than any other team in the postseason — it’s not small ball they’re playing — but Los Angeles had the advantage in the larger sample of the regular season, so we’ll give that to them. The bullpens? Who knows. Toronto has trusted more arms, and that variety may matter in a longer series, but what if the Dodgers just ride their starters (and Roki Sasaki) all the way through?

Eno predicts Dodgers in six: Starters on throw days, a rookie starter as a setup man, maybe even a future Hall of Famer as a middle inning lefty specialist: the Dodgers will find a way to paper over their biggest team flaw however they can. Los Angeles has made it this far with less than 30 percent of its innings coming from relievers, while everyone else is getting more than half of their outs from the pens. They seem likely to ride their stars to the first repeat World Series victory in MLB since the Yankees in 1998 through 2000. The star power in the lineup and the rotation for the Dodgers is just undeniable, as unrelenting as the Blue Jays have been this postseason. I mean, the only way Shohei Ohtani can top his last game is to do something like it in the World Series, and betting against him so far has been futile.

Storylines to watchDid the Brewers wake up Shohei Ohtani?

It’s rare to have a player scuffle so much that his exploits consume a mid-series press conference…only for that player to turn around and win the series MVP, just as Shohei Ohtani did in the National League Championship Series. Then again, did you see him in Game 4? Have you watched the highlights again? Did that really happen? Ohtani’s two-way performance was spectacular enough that the final numbers in his NLCS — a .357 batting average, four homers, a 1.643 OPS and six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts on the mound — were more than enough to win the MVP honors.

Did that game wake up a monster?

“I mean, you can only contain Shohei for so long,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after his team’s sweep of the Brewers was complete.

The Dodgers have already performed like a juggernaut with Ohtani’s bat on ice. Having him going only makes the challenge of stopping them all the more difficult.

Will a dynasty be crowned?

The Dodgers had to overcome themselves over the course of 162 games. Their 93 wins, not good enough for a first-round bye, were a disappointment. Earlier this postseason, Kiké Hernández admitted the Dodgers were “checked out” at points during the regular season, which started abroad for the second consecutive season and did not match the high that last year’s World Series run brought them.

Yet they are back in the Fall Classic, joining the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies as the only reigning champions over the last 23 years to win a title and make it back to the World Series the next season. Baseball hasn’t seen a repeat champion in 25 years, since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees (which were one win away from a four-peat in 2001). Four more Dodgers wins will not only snap that drought, but also suddenly put them in elite company with three titles in the last six years. This is the Dodgers’ golden era. Is it time for the next golden dynasty?

“They said the Dodgers were ruining baseball,” Dave Roberts said on the podium after clinching the pennant. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”

Will Bo Bichette return?

As Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rewrote his narrative of postseason play, Bo Bichette watched from the dugout. He hasn’t played since Sept. 6, when he sprained a knee sliding into home plate at Yankee Stadium. Ahead of every series, his availability was a state secret. The Jays and Bichette danced around the fact that, ultimately, he was not ready to return.

But in the champagne-soaked fray of an AL pennant celebration, Bichette was clear: “I’ll be ready.” It was the first time he spoke with such conviction since the injury. He may not return to the field to play shortstop, but Bichette was confident in a return.

His upside is immense. Bichette hit .311 this season and finished third in hits in the majors despite missing a month. At his best, he’s Toronto’s clean-up hitter, cashing in many runs. But Bichette hasn’t played in real games in six weeks. How rusty will he be?

George Springer has become Toronto’s clear designated hitter, yet to play the field in October. The 36-year-old sent the Jays to the World Series with a game-flipping homer in Game 7 of the ALCS. But he also took a fastball to the knee a few days before, grimacing and limping throughout the series’ final contests. How the Jays fit both Springer and Bichette in the lineup will be one of the series’ most pressing questions.

Key matchupsRoki Sasaki vs. Myles Straw

This one would be funny considering the lore behind it. The Dodgers and Blue Jays were each among the finalists to land Sasaki this past winter, when just about every club in the sport sought to acquire him. The last few hours of his signing period featured a flurry of moves to try to clear up international bonus pool space, which one team (the Dodgers) waited to make until after Sasaki actually made his decision. The Blue Jays did not, taking on Straw’s contract as part of a deal to pick up $2 million more in international bonus pool space. When Sasaki chose the Dodgers, it appeared as if the Blue Jays had egg on their face and an extra Straw on their roster. Straw, to his credit, has produced enough to stick around, as he’s been worth 2.9 Baseball Reference WAR and been on the team’s postseason roster.

The odds of this matchup actually happening are slim, but technically possible!

Dodgers’ ability to miss bats vs. the Blue Jays’ contact skills

Dodgers pitchers’ 24.8 percent strikeout rate this season was the second-highest mark in baseball and the best in the National League and they’ve maintained close to that rate during the postseason. The Blue Jays struck out at the lowest rate in baseball this season (17.8 percent), putting the ball in play while also having thumpers such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who can knock the ball out of the ballpark. Something might have to give. The Blue Jays’ contact kills, in theory, could put some more pressure on a Dodgers defensive unit that has performed better than their in-season norms so far this postseason.

Are there enough lefties to combat Shohei Ohtani?

The Phillies and Brewers’ plan to handle Shohei Ohtani (and Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy) relied on throwing lefties at them as often as possible. It worked. The problem with replicating it? The Blue Jays don’t have quite the same volume of lefties to throw at the issue.

The Blue Jays clearly trust Brendon Little, who has taken on a career-high workload. Mason Fluharty’s one career save came when he struck out Ohtani to end a game at Dodger Stadium this season. Eric Lauer is a starter by trade, but does throw with his left hand. Those are the only lefties the Blue Jays had on their staff on the ALCS roster, and it’s hard to see them adding Justin Bruihl for fear of him having to face righties Mookie Betts and Will Smith (or Teoscar Hernández).

Maybe Toronto finds a different way to get at this lineup. At one point in Game 7, manager John Schneider intentionally walked switch hitter Cal Raleigh with no one on and two outs.

Top performers

Blue Jays top postseason performers

PlayerPOSStat

Lineup

1B

6 home runs

Rotation

RHP

2.00 ERA in 18 innings

Bullpen

RHP

12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings

Mitch’s X-Factor, Trey Yesavage: When Trey Yesavage steps foot on a World Series mound, more than half his big league appearances will have come in October. He’s posted a 4.20 ERA in three playoff starts, but lifted the Jays to two crucial wins. The Dodgers, like every team that has faced Yesavage so far this season, have not personally witnessed the 22-year-old’s high release point before. It’s higher than any pitcher in the league this year. With a funky release and devastating stuff, Yesavage has been a weapon in two playoff rounds, so far. The Jays need that weapon once more.

Dodgers top postseason performers

PlayerPOSStat

Lineup

DH

.962 OPS; .641 OPS before NLCS Game 4

Rotation

LHP

21 innings; only four runners have reached second base

Bullpen

RHP

3 saves

Fabian’s X-Factor, the Dodgers’ rotation: Dodgers starters were historically good during the NLCS, with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani combining for a 0.63 ERA that was the lowest ever seen in that round. Their rotation has a 1.40 ERA this entire postseason.

Katie’s X-Factor, the Dodgers’ bullpen: The talking point all October has been can the Dodgers close out late games without their key relievers? The NLCS proved they can. Starting-pitcher-turned-emergency-closer Roki Sasaki has become Roberts’ preferred ninth-inning arm, with the rookie righty allowing just one earned run in eight relief innings so far this postseason.

Other relievers are stepping up as well. Alex Vesia has logged 4 2/3 innings and has not surrendered an earned run since Game 1 of the wild card series. Despite a shaky September — his ERA was over 9.00 — Blake Treinen has kept the trust of his long-time manager, and his recent results are starting to pay off. Treinen appeared in three of four games last series and notched an imperative save in Game 1. Los Angeles also has Emmet Sheehan available for multiple innings. The deployment is not how the Dodgers drew it up, but thanks in large part to the rotation’s standout performance, it’s working.

In case you missed it

Shohei Ohtani put together a masterpiece in Game 4 of the NLCS: six scoreless innings on the mound with 10 strikeouts, and three home runs at the plate.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s six postseason homers are tied with Jose Bautista and Joe Carter for the most in franchise history. And he has done it in a single, magical October.