World Series Preview: Schedule, Predictions, & Best Bets
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays are meeting in the 2025 World Series. Los Angeles is aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back titles in a quarter of a century, while the Blue Jays are competing in their first Fall Classic since 1993.
Despite the Jays earning a first-round bye, they have played 11 games to the Dodgers’ 10 in these playoffs. Los Angeles swept the Reds, beat the Phillies 3-1, and swept the Brewers. Toronto saw off the Yankees in four games before pulling off a historic comeback to defeat the Mariners in seven games in the ALCS.
Owner of a 0.86 ERA in these playoffs, Blake Snell is scheduled to start Game 1 for the Dodgers. Toronto is choosing between Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. The Jays get the benefit of playing at home in Games 1 and 2 before the series heads to Dodger Stadium.
Series Prediction: Dodgers Win Game 1 & Win Series (+110)
Winning Game 1 is obviously a significant advantage. It has been especially significant in the World Series, with the Game 1 winner winning the series in 25 of the last 30 years. Snell, who has allowed six hits in 21 playoff innings, is starting Game 1 for the Dodgers.
Toronto’s offense was kept relatively quiet in Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS. The Jays fell behind 2-0 as a result. They won’t be able to recover from a deficit of that size against this Dodgers team.
As formidable as the Blue Jays have been at Rogers Centre, the Dodgers have been unaffected by playing on the road. Their experience stands them in good stead to win the series opener on Friday, which will mean they can win the series without having to return to Toronto for Game 6.
World Series MVP Pick: Kiké Hernández (+5000)
Forget about Kiké Hernández’s 73 OPS+ in the regular season. The utility man has a career .863 OPS in the playoffs (156 points higher than his regular-season mark) and has a .792 OPS in this postseason.
He’s a longshot in this market, of course. Snell at +2000 is appealing. Freddie Freeman shouldn’t be written off after his Fall Classic heroics 12 months ago.
Historically, stars don’t present the best value in this market. Big names have won it, but role players have often topped the voting in the small sample of a best-of-seven series (Jorge Soler and Steve Pearce are two recent examples).
Hernández, with well-earned postseason pedigree, is the kind of player who could be a surprising MVP contender with a couple of clutch hits.
Other Picks: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hits More Home Runs Than Shohei Ohtani (+190), Ernie Clement Most Hits (+1400), Freddie Freeman Most RBIs (+1100)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a 1.440 OPS with six home runs in these playoffs. Ohtani had been ice-cold at the plate before he thumped three home runs in Game 4 of the NLCS. Guerrero outhomering the reigning NL MVP is superb value at +190, considering the numbers they have each posted in the playoffs so far.
Ernie Clement has a .429 batting average this postseason. He’s struck out twice in 45 plate appearances. An extreme contact hitter, Clement rarely whiffs and swung at the first pitch in 42.8% of his plate appearances in the regular season. These Dodgers pitchers will be aggressive against the weaker hitters in Toronto’s lineup – Clement can get the ball in play early in the count and squares the ball up at a good rate.
Freeman had 90 RBIs in the regular season. He’s only got one so far in the playoffs, but he was an RBI machine in last year’s World Series and has been solid – if unspectacular – at the plate so far in the 2025 postseason. Batting clean-up behind Ohtani, Will Smith, and Mookie Betts, Freeman inevitably gets plenty of RBI opportunities.
Schedule
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 24, 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m. ET, Dodger Stadium
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. ET, Dodger Stadium
- Game 5*: Wednesday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m. ET, Dodger Stadium
- Game 6*: Friday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
- Game 7*: Saturday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
Series Odds
- Dodgers -222
- Blue Jays +180
Predicted Starters
Game 1: Dodgers – Blake Snell, Blue Jays – Kevin Gausman
Game 2: Dodgers – Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blue Jays – Trey Yesavage
Game 3: Dodgers – Tyler Glasnow, Blue Jays – Shane Bieber
Game 4: Dodgers – Shohei Ohtani, Blue Jays – Max Scherzer
Recent World Series Winners
- 2024 – Dodgers
- 2023 – Rangers
- 2022 – Astros
- 2021 – Braves
- 2020 – Dodgers
- 2019 – Nationals
- 2018 – Red Sox
- 2017 – Astros
- 2016 – Cubs
- 2015 – Royals
