The Toronto Blue Jays are back on baseball’s biggest stage for the first time in more than 30 years. After a roller-coaster season and an underdog playoff run, they now face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a team loaded with star power and the most dominant rotation in baseball. Can they upset the odds once again? Aaron Rose has his say.
For Toronto to pull off the upset, it will take a near-perfect mix of timely hitting, sharp defense, and smart bullpen management. Here are five keys that could determine whether the Blue Jays can finish their storybook run with a championship.
Nobody strikes out less than the Blue Jays, and nobody racks up more strikeouts than the Dodgers. It is strength against strength, and it will define the series.
Can the Blue Jays Handle the Dodgers Rotation?
Toronto’s offense has been relentless in October, leading all postseason teams in slugging and OPS. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been unstoppable, George Springer continues to shine on the biggest stage, and role players such as Ernie Clement and Nathan Lukes keep finding ways to contribute. The Jays do not try to overpower pitchers. They win by putting the ball in play, forcing mistakes, and capitalizing when they come.
The Dodgers will counter with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasnow. Toronto must stay patient, grind out at-bats, and make them work for every out. The Dodgers thrive on strikeouts, but the Blue Jays thrive on contact. The team that wins that battle will likely control the series.
The Lefty Bullpen Will Be Tested
Manager John Schneider has shown throughout the playoffs that he has no problem mixing and matching his bullpen based on opposing hitters. He will need to do it again against a lineup stacked with left-handed power.
Toronto will lean heavily on Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, and Brendon Little to get big outs against Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy. Earlier this year, Fluharty struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded to win a game. The Jays will need more of those moments. Lauer and Little will also be asked to handle pressure innings against some of the best hitters in the world.
It will not be easy. The Dodgers also have Mookie Betts and Will Smith, two dangerous right-handed hitters who sit between those lefties in the lineup. Schneider’s ability to manage matchups and trust his bullpen will be critical in keeping Los Angeles from breaking games open.
What Version of Bo Bichette Are They Getting?
Bo Bichette is expected to return to the lineup for the World Series, and his impact could be enormous. When healthy, he is one of baseball’s best hitters. He batted .311 this year and finished second in the American League in hits, providing the kind of consistency that makes the entire lineup more dangerous.
The question is which version of Bichette the Blue Jays will get. He has not played in more than six weeks and will now face the toughest pitching staff in the sport. Normally, a player in his situation would have a minor league rehab stint to get back up to speed. Instead, he will be stepping into the biggest stage of his career.
If Bichette looks like himself, the Blue Jays lineup becomes even more potent. If he struggles or shows rust, Toronto may have to lean even harder on Guerrero and Springer to carry the offense.
Managing Bo and the Defense
Bichette’s return also creates a challenge defensively. He has been taking ground balls at second base, a position he has never played in the majors and has not touched since 2019. It is one thing to practice at a new spot, but another to debut there in the World Series. If Bichette is not ready to play the field, he will have to serve as the designated hitter. That would push Springer back into the outfield, where he has not played in a month. Toronto has prided itself on solid defense throughout the playoffs, and maintaining that stability will be vital. How the Blue Jays manage those moving pieces could make the difference in a close game.
It Only Takes Four
Baseball is a 162-game grind that ends with a best-of-seven test. The Dodgers are the favorites, and rightfully so. They have the best pitching staff in baseball and a lineup full of All-Stars. If these two teams played 100 times, Los Angeles would probably win most of them.
But Toronto doesn’t need to be the better team. They just need to win four of the next seven. They have home-field advantage, momentum, and belief. If the Pirates could sweep the Dodgers earlier this year, the Blue Jays can certainly beat them four times in October.
For that to happen, Guerrero must keep delivering, the bullpen must execute, and the team must keep playing to its strengths: contact hitting, smart defense, and calm under pressure. The Blue Jays are underdogs, but they have been underdogs all season, and every time, they have found a way to rise to the moment.