If the Los Angeles Dodgers are to become the first back-to-back World Series champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, they will have to go through the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays punched their ticket to the Fall Classic with a Game 7 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night as George Springer hit a game-winning home run. This is Toronto’s first World Series appearance since 1993, when they won their second consecutive title.
The Dodgers thoroughly dismantled the Milwaukee Brewers, owners of MLB’s best record during the regular season, in the NLCS to return to the World Series. They are the first defending champion to reach the World Series the next season since the 2008-09 Philadelphia Phillies, and, in more than a few ways, this year’s Dodgers are better than last year’s.
On the mound, Tyler Glasnow is L.A.’s worst starter, and he’s pretty darn good. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the singular Shohei Ohtani have all pitched like aces the last few weeks and they’re all healthy. Ohtani also provides impact at the plate, as evidenced by his historic three-home run performance in the pennant-clinching NLCS Game 4 win.
Snell will receive the nod in Game 1, with Yamamoto following him in Game 2. That was the same order the Dodgers employed during the NLCS.
As for the Blue Jays, they’ve ridden a high-powered offense to seven wins in 11 postseason games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been the best hitter on the planet this month and is doing just about everything he can to bring a championship to Toronto. Others like George Springer, Ernie Clement, and Andrés Giménez have come up big at times this postseason as well.
Toronto’s pitching staff is neither as deep nor as star-studded as L.A.’s, but it is formidable. Rookie righty Trey Yesavage has shown himself to be unfazed by postseason pressure and veteran starters Shane Bieber, Kevin Gausman, and Max Scherzer have proven their postseason chops. The bullpen can be shaky, though the same is true of the Dodgers.
The Blue Jays (94-68) will be the home team over the Dodgers (93-69) in the World Series because they had the better regular-season record. Here now is the schedule for the 2025 World Series. All games can be streamed on fubo (try for free).
2025 World Series schedule
|
1 |
Fri. Oct. 24 |
8 p.m. ET |
Rogers Centre |
Fox |
|
2 |
Sat. Oct. 25 |
8 p.m. ET |
Rogers Centre |
Fox |
|
3 |
Mon. Oct. 27 |
8 p.m. ET |
Dodger Stadium |
Fox |
|
4 |
Tues., Oct. 28 |
8 p.m. ET |
Dodger Stadium |
Fox |
|
5 (if nec.) |
Wed., Oct. 29 |
8 p.m. ET |
Dodger Stadium |
Fox |
|
6 (if nec.) |
Fri., Oct. 31 |
8 p.m. ET |
Rogers Centre |
Fox |
|
7 (if nec.) |
Sat., Nov. 1 |
8 p.m. ET |
Rogers Centre |
Fox |
2025 World Series odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Dodgers: -260
- Blue Jays: +220
Game 1 storylines
Dodgers: The Dodgers are attempting to become Major League Baseball’s first repeat World Series champions since the New York Yankees won three consecutive titles from 1998-2000. Additionally, the Dodgers are, by far, the more experienced club in this setting. Los Angeles will have now appeared in five of the last nine World Series, including three of the past six.
Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are in their first World Series since 1993, when they won their second title in a row. Toronto became just the third club in the last 20 years to overcome a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, with the others being the Arizona Diamondbacks (in 2023) and the Dodgers (in 2020).
Game 1 prediction
I picked Los Angeles to win the whole thing heading into the postseason, and I have to stand by that now. The Dodgers were the better team during the regular season, in terms of run differential, even if they had the worse record. Most importantly, the Dodgers now have a healthy rotation. I think that’ll prove to be the difference, starting with a tight victory here in Game 1. I’ll say 3-2 Dodgers. — R.J. Anderson