The Blue Jays won Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday night thanks to a go-ahead three-run home run for postseason monster George Springer — a monster the Dodgers know all too well — in a win-or-go-home game for all time. It broke an over 30-year old World Series drought for the Jays and barred the Mariners from the World Series once again. They are still the only franchise in baseball to never go to the Fall Classic.
Toronto pushed the Mariners to their absolute limit and won fair and square and, with all due respect to Seattle fans, are probably more well-equipped to take on the Dodgers in the World Series.
The Blue Jays are built on Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, and some guys you've never heard of who are somehow turning into postseason standouts. The Dodgers are...the Dodgers.
The team with the most comeback victories of any team in baseball is bound to give the Dodgers a healthy fight, but the Dodgers' distinct advantage over the Blue Jays has been their advantage over the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers already. LA's starting pitching looks bulletproof.
Dodgers' starting pitching is their greatest asset going into World Series against Blue Jays' heavy hitters
Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer were the Blue Jays' starters in the ALCS. Gausman has been solid across the board, rookie Yesavage was bullied a little in his first start against the Mariners, Bieber's been shaky, and the Dodgers have a score to settle with Scherzer, who gave up two runs in his one postseason appearance so far.
Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani only gave up three collective runs in the NLCS, and Snell wasn't responsible for any of them. That Dodgers rotation, pitching as many innings as they've been able to, looks basically unstoppable.
None of the Blue Jays' starters are lefties either, which will put Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy, the Dodgers' three key lefty hitters, in a prime position to mash.
The Blue Jays have those aforementioned guys you've never heard of who will threaten just as much as the rest of the lineup — Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes — but the Dodgers' starting pitching unit just needs to keep doing exactly what they've been doing. They already swept the Brewers, who had the best regular season record in baseball and beat the Dodgers six times.
Four more wins to go.
