This one could be fun.

The storylines seem never ending. The Toronto Blue Jays were last in the World Series in 1993 and won it with the famous Joe Carter home run. George Springer won another game in the postseason with his 23rd career homer…after limping through a game and a half with a sore knee (Fouling a ball off of your own knee is not only really difficult to do, but is also really painful). Shortstop Bo Bichette hit .311 with 94 runs-batted-in but sprained his knee September 6. His replacement, Andrés Giménez hit two home runs and drove in six against the Seattle Mariners in a classic, seven-game American League Championship Series. In a battle of first basemen, Freddie Freeman loses. The guy who will forever be remembered for the bases-loaded blast that beat the New York Yankees a year ago hardly looks like the same guy. He’s been slow to the fastball and waving at off speed stuff away. For Toronto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit .452 this postseason and has had some people asking if perhaps, he might just be better than his dad. I don’t know about that, but I do know that dad’s series of seven hits in 19 at-bats against the Boston Red Sox in 2008 was not as good as Jr.’s nine-for-17 effort against the Yankees in 2025. And, Jr.’s three home runs against Seattle give him six for his postseason career. Dad only had two.

Shohei Ohtani has Freeman-itis. He had two hits in 15 at-bats going into Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He walked off with the Most Valuable Player because of his three-home-runs and 10 strikeouts on the mound as the starting pitcher in that game. But, that’s not the only story on the Dodgers. It’s been a mix of the bench players and the other starts who have led the team in clutch hits. Kiké Hernández is hitting .306 and Mookie Betts is hitting .293. Combined, they have 10 RBI. Teoscar Hernandez has 11, but has also had to have clutch hits to keep the team afloat because of his horrendous fielding and baserunning gaffes. Tommy Edman and Will Smith are hitting .286. Everyone is hitting at least a little…with the notable exception of outfielder Andy Pages, who is in the worst slump of his career (.086 BA). If anyone is poised for the role of unlikely World Series hero, it’s that guy.

Offensively, Toronto counters with Ernie Clement (.429 BA), Nathan Lukes (.333), Addison Barger (.286), and Daulton Varsho (.273). Springer is hitting .239, but has the four home runs and is perhaps the best mistake hitter on the team alongside Guerrero Jr.

The thing about the Dodgers’ starting pitching is that mistakes have been at a minimum. They have been outstanding and if they can keep it up, Toronto is in for a very short series and a view of a World Series celebration in Los Angeles. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs which is third-best on the team. Blake Snell looked every bit the Cy Young Award winner he is with dominate outings against Milwaukee and the Philadelphia Phillies. When you have 28 strikeouts and five walks in 21 innings-pitched, you have a pretty good thing going. Tyler Glasnow (0.68 ERA) and Ohtani at 2.25 make up an nearly unbeatable combo. Clayton Kershaw is retiring. Will he get an inning? Maybe in relief? Alex Vesia looks like he has righted the ship after finishing the season struggling. He’s a lefty. They will need him.Manager Dave Roberts finally went all-in with the starters and left the bullpen to spectate in the NLCS. There is no reason to believe he will involve them now if he doesn’t have to. But, if needed, Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki seem to be up to the task.

The same can’t be said of Toronto’s staff. Much has been made of rookie, Trey Yesavage‘s gutty performance against Seattle, but his postseason ERA is 4.20, which is about the average of the entire staff (4.36). Shane Bieber is right there as well. Max Scherzer probably can’t be counted on to deliver another performance like the two earned runs he gave up in 5.2 innings in the ALCS. Kevin Gausman is the ace, but Toronto could only win four of the seven games he pitched despite the fact he had a 2.00 ERA in those games. Big picture: they aren’t going deep in games and the bullpen is atrocious, with the exception of Louis Varland and he’s a guy with a season ERA of almost five.

Which brings to the end of the story and the storylines.

Prediction: Dodgers in five.