The Dodgers and Blue Jays couldn’t have taken more different paths to the World Series in their respective Championship Series matchups. The Dodgers rolled through the Brewers in four games, never really breaking a sweat. On the other hand, the Blue Jays lost the first two games of their CS against the Seattle Mariners, fighting back to a Game 7 where a George Springer 3-run homer put them on top in the 7th inning, sending them to the World Series.
By winning 94 games in the regular season, the Blue Jays have earned the home field advantage in the World Series, which could play a pivotal role in the series. The Toronto crowd was absolutely rocking during the ALCS series with the Mariners. The Jays offense is lead by Vlad Jr. and George Springer, who both hit 3 home runs during the ALCS. Vlad Jr. has hit a total of 6 homers in these playoffs, and Springer has 4, bringing his career postseason home run total to 23, tying him for the 3rd most all-time with Kyle Schwarber.
The Jays starting rotation features Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, and, rookie, Trey Yesavage. I think the make or break situation for the Jays in this series is going to come down to their bullpen. Chris Bassit, Louis Varland, Jeff Hoffman, and a trio of lefties, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, and Brendon Little are going to be key to trying to keep the Dodgers from blowing games open late in games.
The Dodgers offense is stacked, to say the least. For most fans, you don’t even need to say their full names when talking about the likes of Ohtani, Mookie, Freddie, Kiké and Teoscar. Because of them, the edge obviously has to go to the Dodgers in this series. Knowing Ohtani, the Toronto crowd could go silent after the first pitch of the game 1.
The Dodgers offense is obviously amazing, but what really stood out for me in the NLCS was their pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani, absolutely dominated the Milwaukee Brewers offense. They combined to only allow 2 earned runs in 28 2/3rd innings. The Dodgers bullpen only pitched 6 1/3rd innings in the four game series, which is unheard of recent history, where some teams might use their bullpen that much in a single playoff game.
While this should be a pretty good matchup, I think the Dodgers have the talent to steamroll the Jays in the World Series. I’m not really a gambler, but if I were to bet, I’d say the Dodgers win this in 5 games. The Jays probably take a game 1 or 2 at home, but I think the Dodgers starting rotation is going to prove to be too much for them.
And for a little gaming action, here is what Out of the Park Baseball 26 says will happen:
Welp… sorry Blue Jays fans. The Dodgers sweep with Ohtani being the MVP after going 7-for-13 with 2 solo home runs for a .538/.625/1.077 triple-slash. He also threw 8 innings of 1-run ball with 9 strikeouts and a win in game 2.