After two action-packed games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the 2025 World Series will move to Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Monday night.
Would coming home help? dodgers take control or will blue Jays Regain the series lead on the road? What has impressed us the most so far, and what should each team do to take the series from here?
Our MLB expert explains what we’ve seen so far and what it means for the rest of this Fall Classic.
Who is this World Series’ two-game MVP — and will he win the award when all is said and done?
Jorge Castillo: addison bargerGrand Slam in Game 1 will be missed in canada for a very long time, but what yoshinobu yamamoto Accomplishment in Game 2 may have saved the Dodgers’ title hopes. The right-hander again completely dominated, becoming the first pitcher to do so since Curt Schilling in 2001. Throw consecutive complete games in the postseasonThe Dodgers must avoid overexposing their bullpen. Yamamoto made sure that happened in Game 2.
Jeff Passan: Yamamoto is an early favorite and has the inside track, though it depends on how deep the series goes. At the earliest, Yamamoto will start Game 6 — and he’ll be coming off five days’ rest, which he took last fall in his first full game against Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series. don’t sleep Will SmithAlthough. A go-ahead homer in Game 2. Great batsman. No strikeouts in the first two games. Towards the Blue Jays, alejandro kirkThe strong playmaking and stellar defense from Game 1 have given him a solid foundation on which to build.
Alden Gonzalez: I’ll go with Smith, who guided Yamamoto through his Game 2 masterpiece and, along with Kirk, has been the best offensive performer during these first two games. Smith’s impact is particularly notable, given (1) the hairline fracture he was still recovering from entering these playoffs and (2) how clearly fatigued he was by this point last year. The Dodgers promoted rookie Dalton Rushing earlier than expected this season in an effort to keep Smith fresh. A season-ending arm injury could have derailed those plans, but Smith looks to be at his best right now — a significant development for a Dodgers offense that has struggled as a whole since the wild-card round.
What surprised you most during the first two games in Toronto, and should we expect that to continue in Los Angeles?
Castillo: The Blue Jays’ bullpen – widely regarded as a significant weakness – has been consistently pitching quality innings. Toronto’s relief corps allowed four runs in 7⅓ innings in the first two games. Two of those runs came after the Blue Jays took an 11-2 lead in Game 1 on a home run shohei ohtaniThey weren’t light-hearted performances, but they were encouraging as Toronto looks to pick up three more wins.
Pasan: The mediocre guy at the top of the Los Angeles lineup. Ohtani, mookie bets And freddy freeman He is a combined 4-for-21 with four runs and two RBI — both of which came from a garbage-time Ohtani homer in the Game 1 blowout. It hasn’t been a particularly good postseason for any of the Dodgers’ stars. Ohtani’s six home runs are excellent, of course, but he is 5 for 43 with 19 strikeouts in his other at-bats. Bates is homeless and has scored only three runs in 12 matches. Last year, Freeman led the World Series with one RBI – and then drove in 12 runs against New York. This year, Freeman reached the World Series with one RBI – and no runs scored in either game against Toronto.
Gonzalez: operation of bo bichet – that he started Game 1 at second base, a position he had never played in the major leagues, and, to a lesser extent, that he was not in the lineup for Game 2. Bichette has spent the last seven weeks recovering from a left knee sprain, and while he’s obviously not fully recovered yet, he’s proven to be viable, even entering the late stages of Game 2. The Blue Jays apparently wanted Bichette in the lineup for Game 1. in the left wing blake snellAnd although the rest of the Dodgers’ rotation is right-handed, Bichette is clearly going to be involved in this series. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he will be in the lineup against tyler glasnow In Game 3, which comes after a day off.
What do you expect from the starting pitchers? max shazer And Tyler Glasnow in Game 3?
Castillo: Glasnow would look to continue his postseason success at home, while Scherzer would face a more difficult time in his return to Los Angeles after four years of pitching in the postseason for the Dodgers. Glasnow has held opponents to one run in 11⅔ innings in his two playoff starts at Dodger Stadium. In August, he limited Toronto to two runs on four hits in 5⅔ innings in Los Angeles. On the other hand, Scherzer gave an important performance For the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series in Seattle, with his team trailing 2–1 in the series. The Dodgers’ offense has struggled for most of the playoffs, but it is only a matter of time before it implodes. This will be a tough test for Scherzer.
Pasan: Among MLB pitchers with at least 90 innings this year, Glasnow had the fifth-most valuable curveball on a per-pitch basis. And given that the Dodgers leaned heavily on the curve in the first two games, Glasnow spinning it early and often could be a big part of the game plan. Similarly, Scherzer had success with his curve in his last start 11 days ago, though his fastball – which hit 94 mph and topped out at a season-high 96.5 – also proved to be an effective offering. The most important thing for Scherzer is keeping the ball in the stadium. He hit 19 home runs in 85 innings, the second-highest rate among the 158 pitchers who threw at least 80 innings this season.
Gonzalez: If Glasnow’s mechanics are properly coordinated — and that’s often a question for someone who is 6-foot-8 and with a lot of moving parts — I expect this to be the most unbalanced pitching matchup of this series. Scherzer is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, up there Justin Verlander And clayton kershaw One of the defining pitchers of this era. And if Scherzer’s ALCS performance showed anything, it’s that, even at age 41, he should never be counted out. But the Dodgers know him well, having seen him as recently as two months ago, and this version of Scherzer is the type of pitcher against whom their slow attack can come alive — especially at home.
What do the Dodgers need to do to take control of this series at home?
Castillo: They need their starters to continue pitching deep into games. Blue Jays expose Dodgers’ biggest weakness – bullpen — in Game 1, and Yamamoto didn’t let that happen again. A complete game is not required, but completing at least six innings significantly increases the Dodgers’ chances of winning.
Pasan: Do what no other team has been able to do this postseason: Strike out Blue Jays hitters. The Dodgers have done this at a slightly higher rate than Toronto’s previous opponents, but the Jays have already had several excellent at-bats in the first two games of the series, and the key for Glasnow will be to avoid the two-strike nibbling and go right for the punchout. Los Angeles’ bullpen isn’t exactly loaded with high-strikeout options — their 6.75 strikeouts per nine ranks 10th out of 12 playoff teams — so the onus will be on Glasnow, Ohtani and, possibly, Snell to generate swing-and-misses over the next three games at Dodger Stadium.
Gonzalez: Start their offense. The Dodgers are slashing .216/.307/.359 since the wild-card round, averaging just 3.7 runs per game (it was 5.1 during the regular season). Their starting pitchers have masked many of the offense’s shortcomings recently, and it’s hard to count on this explosive attack to continue against the Blue Jays. Los Angeles’ three best hitters in particular need to step up. Ohtani has hit four home runs over the past three rounds, three of which came in the pennant clincher, but he has otherwise been unproductive offensively. Meanwhile, Bates and Freeman have combined to slash just .197/.307/.329 since the wild-card round.
What must the Blue Jays do to regain the series lead on the road?
Castillo: Recap what happened in Game 1, when they forced Blake Snell to throw 29 pitches in the first inning and still didn’t back out. Snell exited with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth after 100 pitches. From there, the Blue Jays raided Los Angeles’ Emmett Sheehan And anthony banda In Historic innings of nine runsHe was the best in baseball at making contact and avoiding strikeouts. The only way to win is to defeat the Dodgers’ starters.
Pasan: Keep playing clean ball. The Blue Jays last committed an error 67 innings ago in Game 2 of the ALCS, and to beat a talented team like the Dodgers, you have to treat everything as a precious commodity. Toronto arrives with a powerful attack, elite bat-to-ball skills and exceptional glovework. And even though scoring runs is the most important element to its success, continuing to convert batted balls into outs will aid its efforts to avoid the fate of the Yankees in the last World Series.
Gonzalez: When the Dodgers swept Milwaukee in the NLCS, their four starting pitchers and two best relievers, roki sasaki And Alex Vessia struck out all but nine of his innings. His formula is clear, and Vesia is not for the World Series A big obstacle is formed. As George said, the Blue Jays need to increase Los Angeles’ starting pitching count. And so Toronto’s goal is simple: force a reliever named Sasaki to take at least two innings in each of these next three games. If that happens, Toronto should be in good shape.
