{"id":346362,"date":"2025-10-31T20:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T20:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/346362\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T20:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T20:34:10","slug":"can-the-blue-jays-close-the-door-or-will-the-dodgers-finally-come-out-swinging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/346362\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Blue Jays close the door or will the Dodgers finally come out swinging?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Dodgers vs. Blue Jays<\/a> in Game 6 of the 2025 World Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TORONTO \u2014 As champagne sprayed through the air and players doused themselves with beer, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez was at the center of it all, soaking in another trip to the World Series.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers had just swept the Milwaukee Brewers in four games to win the National League pennant. They had cruised through the playoff field, going 9-1 to reach the World Series for the second consecutive year. Talk of a dynasty was budding. Hern\u00e1ndez was quick to shut that down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much fun as we\u2019re having right now, we haven\u2019t accomplished anything yet this year,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cThe goal is not to play in the World Series. The goal is to win it. And we\u2019ve been talking about it since Day 1 that if we don\u2019t win the World Series, this season is a failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, two weeks later, and the reigning World Series champs have found themselves in peril. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has dazzled in his first World Series and has tied Shohei Ohtani with eight homers this postseason. But it\u2019s been a collective effort from the relentless Toronto Blue Jays as they attempt to slay baseball\u2019s behemoth. The Blue Jays\u2019 commanding 6-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 on Wednesday puts them on the precipice of their first World Series title in over three decades.<\/p>\n

The Fall Classic returns to Rogers Centre on Friday for Game 6. The Blue Jays lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Here\u2019s what you need to know as the World Series reaches its peak.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Trey Yesavage brought the Blue Jays to within one win of the World Series title. But plenty of drama remains. (Ronald Martinez \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays are one win from glory<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s 18-inning marathon of madness could have spelled disaster for the Blue Jays, who lost in what tied for the longest game in World Series history in Game 3. But thanks to a gritty effort from Game 4 starter Shane Bieber, who posted 5 1\/3 innings of one-run ball<\/a>, Toronto rallied back from what could have been a \u201cback-breaking loss\u201d \u2014 as Bieber put it \u2014 to even the series.<\/p>\n

That set the table for rookie Trey Yesavage in Game 5, and he delivered one of the most remarkable World Series performances in recent memory. In just his eighth major-league start, Yesavage set a World Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts<\/a> over seven one-run innings. Don Newcombe owned the previous mark, with 11 in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistoric stuff,\u201d Toronto manager John Schneider said. \u201cWhen you talk about that stage and his numbers, getting ahead of a lot of hitters, tons of swing-and-miss. It\u2019s one thing to be in the zone, and it\u2019s another thing to be in the zone and get some swing-and-miss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, a Blue Jays team that dominated at home (54-27 at Rogers Centre during the regular season) is on the cusp of its first World Series title in 32 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be electric. It\u2019s going to be everything that it has been for the last month and probably more,\u201d Kevin Gausman said. \u201cWe\u2019re really good at home, so we feel confident playing in front of our own fans. The fans there have been awesome, especially lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays won their first World Series in 1992. They won the next season, too, but haven\u2019t won since. Now they\u2019re nine innings away from authoring one of baseball\u2019s best underdog stories.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers are one loss from disaster<\/p>\n

The Dodgers, on the other hand, are in unfamiliar waters. They coasted to the World Series. Now, they\u2019re playing in an elimination game for the first time this October.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there\u2019s a fight in there,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said after Game 5. \u201cI know there\u2019s more in there. We still have to take good at-bats and play. Catch the baseball, convert outs, and if we play a good, clean game, I feel good about our chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baseball has not had a team win consecutive championships since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. The Dodgers were the clear favorite to go back-to-back, but each team has its flaws. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the exposing of those flaws<\/a> has come on baseball\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 obvious strength is their rotation. Their starters bullied the Brewers in the NLCS, posting an astonishing 0.63 ERA in the four-game sweep. Their dominance helped minimize the considerable concerns of both the bullpen, which is without one of its top relievers<\/a> in Alex Vesia, and the offense, which has sputtered to a halt.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, things are magnified in these situations, and we understand that,\u201d Freddie Freeman said. \u201cSo I do think we just need to check down and have, like, almost a 0-1 mindset and just build innings, extend \u2019em, work counts, be who we are. We are always a team that gets starters 70 to 90 pitches by the fourth, and we have to do that again and just build innings, keep putting pressure on \u2019em, and not have quick one-two-three innings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers are a powerhouse, even with legitimate worries surrounding their bats and bullpen. But they have met their match against Toronto, and now must do something they haven\u2019t done all year: stave off elimination and force a Game 7.<\/p>\n

How can the Dodgers turn their offense around?<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 power outage might seem surprising, given the stars in the lineup. But Los Angeles endured slumps like this during the regular season as well. Outside of two historic performances from Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers have not found a consistent answer this October.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel great,\u201d Roberts said after Game 4 regarding his team\u2019s performance at the plate. \u201cYou clearly see (Toronto) finding ways to get hits, move the baseball forward, and we\u2019re not doing a good job of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still have to use the whole field and take what they give you, and if they\u2019re not going to allow for slug, then you\u2019ve got to be able to kind of redirect, club down to take competitive at-bats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Angeles has not been able to do that. The lack of production starts at the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to speak for anybody else, but for me, I\u2019ve just been terrible,\u201d Mookie Betts said after Game 5. \u201cI\u2019ve been terrible. I wish it was from lack of effort, I really do. It\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Betts is not the only offender in the Dodgers\u2019 putrid offense, but his performance is a microcosm of what\u2019s gone wrong<\/a>. Betts is just 3-for-23 in the World Series and 9-for-55 since the Wild Card Series. He has not homered and has driven in just six runs this postseason.<\/p>\n

The lack of thump extends throughout the lineup. Freeman is hitting .237 with three RBIs this October. Will Smith has homered once and owns a .684 OPS. Tommy Edman is hitting .232\/.271\/.375. Andy Pag\u00e9s (4-for-50, .215 OPS) has slumped so terribly that Roberts benched him before Game 4, starting Hern\u00e1ndez in center field and slotting Alex Call in left instead. Hern\u00e1ndez homered for the Dodgers\u2019 only run.<\/p>\n

After the loss, Roberts indicated more lineup changes could be ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s Mookie in the two (hole), Mookie in the three, Freddie in the three. I\u2019m not sure,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, regardless of who we run out there or what construct, we still have to take good at-bats, all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will George Springer be cleared to play?<\/p>\n

What has made the Blue Jays\u2019 past two wins all the more impressive is that they\u2019ve been without leadoff hitter George Springer for both. Springer, who is already playing through knee and hand soreness, sustained an oblique injury in the seventh inning of Game 3. Schneider said Springer was available off the bench for Game 5, though the Blue Jays did not use him.<\/p>\n

There is optimism that Thursday\u2019s off day will provide enough time for Springer to return to the lineup for Game 6. That Toronto has not needed to make a roster move provides an additional layer of hope that its star hitter will be available when the series returns to Rogers Centre. After a resurgent year in which he mashed 32 homers with a .959 OPS, it was Springer who propelled the Blue Jays back to the World Series<\/a> with a go-ahead three-run homer against the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.<\/p>\n

Toronto has managed well without Springer, with Bo Bichette \u2014 who had missed the entirety of the postseason up until the World Series with a left-knee injury \u2014 batting third as the DH in Game 5 and Davis Schneider hitting leadoff. That plan worked well; Schneider tagged Snell on the first pitch of the game for a leadoff homer, with Guerrero Jr., moved up to the two-hole, following suit two pitches later. The Blue Jays never looked back.<\/p>\n

Expect a similar lineup to Game 4 if Springer is not available for Game 6, with Nathan Lukes back at leadoff. Swapping in utility player Joey Loperfido off the bench remains an option as well.<\/p>\n

Starting pitching matchups: Who\u2019s the favorite for Game 6?<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 1.57 ERA in the playoffs) vs. Gausman (2-2, 2.55 ERA) for Game 6, and while Gausman has been plenty dependable for Toronto, the advantage goes to the pitcher coming off consecutive complete games.<\/p>\n

With his thrilling 105-pitch masterpiece<\/a>, which propelled the Dodgers to a 5-1 win in Game 2, Yamamoto became the first pitcher to notch back-to-back complete games in the postseason since Curt Schilling did so three times in 2001. In a Dodgers staff full of aces, it\u2019s been Yamamoto who\u2019s burned the brightest this October, allowing three runs or fewer in all four of his playoff starts.<\/p>\n

It should come as no surprise that Yamamoto has dominated. There\u2019s a reason the Dodgers signed the Japanese superstar to a 12-year, $325 million contract last December. He has excelled on the sport\u2019s biggest stage, no matter the league. The 27-year-old phenom won three straight Sawamura Awards \u2014 the Japanese version of the Cy Young \u2014 and won the Pacific League MVP three times. He\u2019ll garner consideration for this year\u2019s National League Cy Young award as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know you got the money that you got for a reason,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said after Yamamoto\u2019s second complete game. \u201cIt\u2019s not because you project. They didn\u2019t give you the money because of what they think they can do to your stuff. They gave you the money because of who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which starters will be available in the bullpen?<\/p>\n

A clinch scenario means all hands on deck. The Game 4 starters for both teams \u2014 Shane Bieber and Ohtani \u2014 will be available out of their bullpens for either Game 6 or Game 7, if needed.<\/p>\n

In Ohtani\u2019s case, due to MLB\u2019s two-way player rule,<\/a>\u00a0what makes the most sense is for him to start Game 7 as an opener<\/a>, should the Dodgers elect to use him. The rule, which was adjusted in 2022 when the universal DH was adopted, states that players with two-way roster status can remain in the game as a designated hitter after being removed as a pitcher. However, that rule only applies to starting pitchers, not relievers. If Ohtani were removed from the game as a reliever, the Dodgers would lose the DH. That\u2019s never advisable in a winner-take-all game, and is even more dicey when factoring in the grim state of the Dodgers\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays bullpen was highlighted as one of the team\u2019s weaker areas coming into this series, but Toronto relievers have fared just fine. Still, it certainly helps to have Bieber \u2014 Toronto\u2019s most daring trade deadline acquisition \u2014 on call.<\/p>\n

It all comes down to the wire this weekend. So sit down and strap in. If the five previous games have shown us anything, it\u2019s that Game 6 should be quite the ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Dodgers vs. Blue Jays in Game 6 of the 2025 World Series.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":346363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2502,1266,62,1290,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-346362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115470698927229240","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}