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The Los Angeles Dodgers handed the Milwaukee Brewers a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, with Game 1 kicking off Oct. 24. Thanks to their combination of offense and pitching, as well as the presence of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers will repeat as champions.
The Dodgers have been a powerhouse in the National League for more than a decade, making the postseason every year since 2013 and winning the division in all but one of those seasons.
Aside from Ohtani’s heroics in Game 4, Dodger pitching was the main story of the NLCS, as the Brewers could only muster one run in each of the four games.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff was around league average for the regular season with a 3.95 team ERA. But it’s been much stronger so far in the postseason. Through 10 postseason games, the Dodgers’ pitching has combined for a 2.45 ERA along with 104 strikeouts through 92 innings.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the ace of the staff. In his second season with the Dodgers, he had a 2.49 ERA with 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings. Although they all struggled with injuries during the regular season, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Emmet Sheehan each had sub-3.5 ERAs, and are healthy for the postseason. Ohtani also returned to the mound for the first time since 2023, and in 47 innings, had a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts.
The Dodgers’ offense was a force this season, with five players hitting at least 20 home runs. Ohtani is the runaway favorite for NL MVP this year after putting up another monster season with 55 home runs, 102 runs batted in, and a .282 batting average, along with 20 stolen bases. After slumping early in the postseason, Ohtani broke out in Game 4 of the NLCS, hitting three home runs and pitching six shutout innings.
Although Mookie Betts battled an illness at the beginning of the season that caused him to lose 20 pounds, he recovered and hit .279 with nine home runs and 37 RBI after the All-Star break.
But the Blue Jays will be a tough match, as they have the offensive trio of Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and George Springer. The Blue Jays, however, don’t have any individual player who can match Ohtani’s offensive output.
On the pitching side, the Blue Jays were slightly worse than the Dodgers in the regular season with a 4.19 team ERA. Unlike the Dodgers, however, the Blue Jays have not improved in the postseason, with a 4.36 team ERA after the ALCS.
The Blue Jays also barely survived the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, stretching the series to seven games. The Mariners had four starters hit .200 or less in the postseason and still nearly beat the Blue Jays. The Dodgers’ lineup is more formidable and will pose a greater challenge to Jays pitching.
The Dodgers took two out of three from the Blue Jays at Dodger Stadium earlier this season. The Blue Jays can certainly win a game or two, but in the end, their pitching will not be a match for the mighty Dodgers lineup.
Final prediction: Dodgers in six.
