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…at our rolling coverage of Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays!
On a plane? Camping in the mountains with no access to a radio? In the Gobi desert with no television? Good news, I’m going to personally guide you through this opening act to the Fall Classic.
Can we be honest with each other? It’s been a long time since I’ve been this giddy about a World Series. I am absolutely 100% brought in on this set providing each and every one of us top-shelf, elite October baseball, no question. It’s gonna happen, you just watch, or read.
We’ve got the Dodgers, with all their pomp, circumstance and star power, v a Toronto baseball team with some thumpers of their own. They actually care about putting the ball in play and avoiding strikeouts! And can even pitch a little bit as well. Yes indeed, this series has it all, and when you sprinkle in the tension between the U.S. and Canada, it has even a little more than that!
Of course, the Dodgers and their traveling team of all-stars, a ballclub that has the five best players in all of baseball - two of which are Shohei Ohtani - do have the edge here. So yeah, Toronto must get off to a good start, establish their offense early, get to that LA bullpen and at the very least, walk out of the Rogers Centre with at least one win in the two first games. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s really the first game that must be won. Why? Because the stats say so. World Series winners have taken Game 1 63% of the time. In the Wild Card era, 24 of 30 teams to win first won it all. Such numbers are extremely difficult to poke holes in.
Do the Jays have a chance? Oh, definitely, and Toronto fans tempted to bow their heads and pray pre-game should know they don’t need a divine strike to win this thing, because they have both the right style of play to counter the Dodgers, and they also have a few formidable horses of their own. Sure, LA is starting Blake Snell tonight, Yoshinobu Yamamoto tomorrow, Tyler Glasnow in Game 3 and finally, Ohtani in Game 4. It’s a formidable rotation, but win a game in Tdot, steal a game in LA, and you’re right back north of the border for a Game 6. That’s what we want - a long dramatic series to take us into winter, please!
So gear up for what I believe will be a long, drama-filled World Series. That means getting your beers, peanuts and cracker jacks ready, which should be done now while there’s still time! You can also join the blog and send me all your thoughts and feelings. E-mail me right here and I’ll put your name in pixels – your mom will be so proud!
More to come. Stick with us!
David will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at our experts’ predictions for the 121st Fall Classic.
Dodgers 4-2 Blue Jays. This will be a closer series than people expect. Expect the Blue Jays to score at least one lopsided victory after knocking out one of the vaunted Dodgers starting pitchers early in the game. The problem for the Blue Jays will be an inconsistent bullpen, not their starting pitching, that will struggle against a patient group of veteran Dodgers hitters. GB
Dodgers 4-1 Blue Jays. It feels predestined that the Dodgers will win. If they have a weakness, it’s their bullpen (a shaky 4.27 ERA in the regular season) – but the return to fitness of Sasaki and his devastating splitter should help them stabilize things if anything starts to go wrong. Meanwhile Toronto need absolutely everything to go right. Maybe they can ride Guerrero and Gausman to one upset, but four wins is an enormous ask. AE
Dodgers 4-3 Blue Jays. Their rotation depth is unmatched, their stars rested and Ohtani’s presence elevates the entire lineup’s confidence. This should be a cakewalk for the Dodgers, but baseball is funny sometimes. Toronto’s offense will make the most of their home-field advantage, but the Dodgers’ combination of starting pitching, discipline and star power will simply prove too much to prevent baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century. BAG
Blue Jays 4-3 Dodgers. Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani, Glasnow? What are you supposed to do with these guys? They’ve been so good, their beleaguered bullpen only pitched seven innings in their sweep of the Brewers. That’s positively old school by LA. It’s hard to imagine Toronto pulling it off, but now, really try. Imagine Bichette returning to the lineup and picking up where he left while Guerrero and Springer stay white hot. How about Gausman pitching twice at the Rogers Centre where the Jays are so hard to beat? Contact hitters waste pitches and put the ball in play: anything can happen and it does. Suddenly we’re in Game 7 when Addison Barger touches them all in the 10th inning, helping the Jays to their first title since 1993. Not bad, eh? DL
