The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning to the World Series with hopes of being the first back-to-back champions since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
So far this postseason, the team has endured its share of crazy plays – one brain flub that helped them advance to the NLCS, and being on the bad end of one of the craziest double plays you will ever see in your life. Regardless, the Dodgers have only lost one game to this point, to Philadelphia in the NLDS, and look to be finally operating on all cylinders heading
into the World Series.
The Dodgers swept the Brewers in the NLCS and closed out the series with a phenomenal outing from Shohei Ohtani. In doing so, they gave themselves a week off before starting the World Series. On Monday night, they finally found out where they would start the series. The Toronto Blue Jays took Game 7 from the Seattle Mariners, and since they had the better record than the Dodgers, the series will begin in Toronto.
Once again, the TBLA Staff give their predictions ahead of the World Series.
Game predictions
The starting rotation is humming at full strength and should guide them through, but the Blue Jays pose their biggest test yet and provide a home run thought that wasn’t as prevalent in facing Milwaukee. The Dodgers offense needs to play a larger role in this series after scoring only 3.5 runs per game over the NLDS and NLCS combined. — Eric Stephen
The Dodgers aren’t hitting on all cylinders but enough so that they finally, credibly resemble the monster everyone feared back in February. If the starting pitching continues to dominate and even average offense from Betts and Othani and this series will be over before it begins. — Michael Elizondo
The Dodgers have played like Goliath despite being the underdog in both the NLDS and NLCS, and now go against a Toronto Blue Jays team that has already played more postseason games than the Dodgers have in fewer rounds. The rotation is as historical as they come in the postseason, but the offense has averaged only 3.5 runs per game since the start of the NLDS. The Dodgers will now face a Blue Jays pitching staff that has the third worst ERA among all postseason teams. If Shohei Ohtani can kickstart the tempo for the offense consistently, and the bullpen keeps up the momentum from the NLCS, then they’ll be a lethal force on all fronts. — Jacob Macofsky
For as dominant as the Dodgers’ starters have been, they’ll likely need to work a bit more against a Blue Jays lineup with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. putting up absurd numbers and the hobbled-up George Springer ever so dangerous in the postseason. On the flip side, the bullpen gained some confidence against the Brewers, and it might actually be an even weaker spot for the Blue Jays, whose 5.52 bullpen ERA in the playoffs is worse than the Dodgers. Jeff Hoffman is an outstanding closer, but the bridge to him has some cracks in Toronto. — Estevao Maximo
I really would like to say Dodgers sweep again, but baseball is a funny game. Yes, the Dodgers pitching staff is better than the Blue Jays, and the Blue Jays have more wear and tear. But there’s always something about a team that is fighting to make its way in against one that has had time off in-between series. The Blue Jays are not going to go quietly and forget it if Vladimir Guerrero Jr gets home run happy again. Toronto has had to fight back all season and won’t go down quietly. — Andy Lane Chapman
The Dodgers are as healthy as they’ve been in a long time, and their starting pitching has been on an unbelievably dominant stretch. Toronto’s offense gets a lot of contact combined with power and could expose the holes in the Dodgers’ bullpen. I wouldn’t be surprised if the series ended in 5 games, but I think the Blue Jays, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., have the ability to battle Shoehi Ohtani and the Dodgers deep into the series. — Stacie Wheeler
X factor for the series
Max Muncy adds another dimension to the lineup when he gets going, and the Dodgers could use his power in this series, especially against a heavily right-handed Blue Jays pitching staff. — Eric Stephen
The four times that had a WS matchup between a team that swept and a team that took seven in the LCS, the team that took seven has won every time. In fact, none of these series (1988, 2006, 2007, 2012) lasted more than five games. — Michael Elizondo
Tommy Edman turned his disappointing regular season around since the Wild Card series, and with RBI in three straight games, he is the ultimate X-Factor when surrounded by elite talent. — Jacob Macofsky
Right-handed relievers in the Dodgers bullpen — Estavao Maximo
As always, it comes down to Shohei Ohtani. Whether is the threat of him looming, his pitching, or what he actually does at the plate, Ohtani is involved in all facets of the game. The Toronto fan base is going to be absolutely raining boos on him every at bat, and how he handles that could dictate some other parts of the game. — Andy Lane Chapman
Roki Sasaki has been the Dodgers “X factor” this entire postseason and will continue to be key out of the Dodgers bullpen in the World Series. The 23-year-old rookie has become impactful as a high-leverage reliever down the stretch and a huge reason the Dodgers are four more wins away from back-to-back World Series titles. — Stacie Wheeler
World Series MVP picks
Blake Snell is on a roll right now, and his two starts will be enough to win World Series MVP – Eric Stephen
Ohtani is the easy answer, so I’ll also say Teoscar Hernandez for the memes – Michael Elizondo
Shohei Ohtani will win World Series MVP – Jacob Macofsky
Shohei Ohtani – Estavao Maximo
Going out on a limb and saying Will Smith. He will steer the pitching staff through the Blue Jays lineup and will have a great offensive series at the plate. – Andy Lane Chapman
Shohei Ohtani is the easy pick, but I’m going to go with Blake Snell. He has pitched 21 innings in three starts this postseason and has looked absolutely dominant, allowing just six hits and two earned runs with 28 strikeouts. — Stacie Wheeler
