Tale of the Tape: A look at how the Jays and Dodgers stack up

2025 RECORD: 94-68 (1st in American League East, 1st in American League, 3rd in MLB)

PATH TO 2025 WORLD SERIES: Defeated New York Yankees 3-1 in ALDS, defeated Seattle Mariners 4-3 in ALCS

BIG STAR: First-baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named the most valuable player of the ALCS after batting .385 with three doubles and three home runs against Seattle. Guerrero, who signed a 14-year, US$500-million contract extension this year, has proved to be a big-money player in these playoffs with six homers and 12 RBIs while striking out just three times.

BIG MOMENT: DH George Springer’s three-run blast in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS to put Toronto up 4-3

BIG QUESTION: Will star shortstop Bo Bichette make the Blue Jays’ World Series roster? And if so, in what capacity? Bichette is recovering from a left knee sprain that left him out of most of September and the first rounds of the post-season. The Blue Jays would welcome his bat — he hit .311 with 18 homers, 94 RBIs before his injury. But if he’s not up to full speed, they can’t afford for him to be a liability on defence, especially with multiple Gold Glove winner Andrés Giménez filling in admirably at shortstop. And if they use him as a DH, that means Springer either plays in the outfield — he’s 36 and playing through a knee contusion — or sits.

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LOS ANGELES DODGERS

NUMBER OF WORLD SERIES TITLES: 8, last one in 2024

2025 RECORD: 93-69 (1st in National League West, 3rd in National League, 5th in MLB)

PATH TO 2025 WORLD SERIES: Defeated Cincinnati Reds 2-0 in Wild-Card Series, defeated Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in NLDS, defeated Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 in NLCS

BIG STAR: On a team full of star power, Shohei Ohtani rises to the top. The Japanese superstar and three-time MVP is a unicorn in modern baseball who can pitch and hit at an elite level. He had a career-high 55 home runs this season and had 54 homers and 59 stolen bases in 2024.

BIG MOMENT: Ohtani cemented his NLCS MVP award with a three-home run, 10-strikeout performance that completed a sweep of the Brewers.

BIG QUESTION: The Dodgers are clear favourites, as they should be. L.A. is a well-financed, star-studded team that lost just once on a path to the World Series that went through baseball’s top two regular-season teams. But no team has won two World Series in a row since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. And that Yankees team was the first to accomplish the feat since the 1992-93 Blue Jays. Also, a World Series loss would be crushing for the Dodgers, while the Jays have already shattered expectations for their season. The Jays will need to keep up their relentless attack to plant a seed of doubt within a Dodgers team that has not had to overcome adversity this post-season.

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2025 SEASON SERIES

The Dodgers took two of three from the Blue Jays Aug. 8-10 in Los Angeles. Ohtani had seven hits and two home runs in the series.

L.A. won the first two games by a combined score of 14-2, but Toronto won the third game 5-4 in the type of performance it has become famous for this season. The Jays hit three homers over the final two innings, with Ernie Clement’s solo shot in the ninth putting Toronto ahead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mason Fluharty replaced closer Jeff Hoffman with the bases loaded and one out. Fluharty struck out Ohtani and induced Mookie Betts into a groundout to pick up the save

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Tale of the Tape: A look at how the Jays and Dodgers stack up

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