Snell Set to Shake Up World Series—Can He Defy the Odds Again?

Isn’t it something—baseball rolls back into our lives just as the dust settles on the football battlefields, and here we are, on the brink of a World Series that feels part David versus Goliath, part history in the making. Tonight, the Dodgers and Blue Jays face off, but let’s pause and ask: are we sure the script is set in stone? The Dodgers strut in like titans, powered by Blake Snell’s jaw-dropping playoff dominance, but the Blue Jays, the underdogs dismissed by many, have claws too—94 wins didn’t come by accident. Will Snell’s overpowering strikeouts silence Toronto’s contact savvy, or could rookie Trey Yesavage’s fresh arm throw a wrench into that juggernaut? I’m betting on a showdown that’s more than just chalk lines and shiny logos—it’s about who brings the guts, grit, and maybe a little surprise to the mound. Care to dive deeper into this battle of wills? LEARN MORE.

Dodgers vs. Blue Jays, Game 1, 8:00 ET

The lines are chalked, the bases and jerseys have been adorned with new logos, and everyone is ready for the World Series to take place. I’m looking forward to baseball being back after a profitable Championship Series, and a tough last week or so on the football gridiron. This will be an interesting series as one team is already being counted out, and the other is looking to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in years. Tonight, for Game 1, we have the Dodgers taking on the Blue Jays as the World Series starts.

The Dodgers enter this series looking like juggernauts. They easily dismissed the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. The starting pitching will get most of the glory from that series, and rightfully so. The team had some outstanding performances from their starters, and it will once again be a major edge for Los Angeles in this one. The offense wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire, but they got enough done when needed. I am a bit concerned about the Dodgers’ bullpen, but if their starters are going seven innings again, there really should be nothing to worry about. I’m a bit concerned about the Dodgers relying on homers to win them games. I suppose they are going to live and die by the longball. Tonight, they send out Blake Snell to the mound. If there was a playoff MVP award, Snell should be the winner of it for the Dodgers. He has been simply phenomenal for the club, dishing out 21 innings, two earned runs, and just six hits. He has also issued five walks, but he has struck out 27 hitters as well. His work against Milwaukee was one of the most impressive postseason starts in quite some time. He faced 24 batters in eight innings, also known as the minimum. He faced the Blue Jays once this season, going five innings, allowing three hits and striking out ten hitters on his way to a scoreless outing. Overall, Toronto hitters are only hitting .227 against him in 66 at-bats.

The Blue Jays are getting no love in the market for this series. Everyone is expecting the Dodgers to just steamroll them, and frankly it has gotten to the point of being a bit ridiculous. You don’t just luckily stumble into winning 94 games for the season. They went the distance against the Mariners who also have very good starting pitching, and they took them down. The problem is that the Mariners arms were, without a doubt, tired after having to go five games against the Tigers in the previous series. To get them off to a good start, they turn to their rookie, Trey Yesavage. He was very good against the Yankees in his first playoff start, but the past two have been a bit more questionable. Against the Mariners in his first outing, he allowed five earned runs over four innings. The next time he faced them, he made some adjustments, and he ended up allowing just two earned runs over 5.2 innings. Having never faced the Dodgers, perhaps he gets a bit of an advantage the first time through the lineup.

There has been a lot made of the Dodgers pitching relying on strikeouts and the Blue Jays not striking out a lot. Contact seems to be undervalued in lineup construction, but I also don’t know that people are giving enough credit to how good these Dodgers starters are. Snell is a beast in the playoffs. I think he is probably going to mow down the Blue Jays hitters here. I’m backing the Blue Jays team total under 3.5 in this one. I just don’t see them getting much off of Snell tonight.

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