I'm looking at the total over, and the way I get there is with Max Scherzer giving up his traditional two runs and Shohei Ohtani giving up three, and then the bullpen does the rest. The Blue Jays hitters have beaten up the Dodgers bullpen. With Yoshi Yamamoto going yesterday, that's good news for the Blue Jays. During the postseason this year, they've hit an MLB high 27 home runs, 95 RBIs, and batted .282. When the Dodger pitchers are dominating the game, it stays under, but I don't see it that way here. If you like the Dodgers you play the under, and if you like the Blue Jays, you play the over, and I like the Blue Jays. Over is the play.
I've got to take the Blue Jays in this do-or-die situation for the World Series because they've earned it with their bats all season and especially the postseason. The Dodgers have hit only .230 in the postseason compared to the Blue Jays .282. The Dodgers got here because Milwaukee was slumping and not hitting the ball. But other than Yoshi Yamamoto, the Blue Jays have handled the Dodgers pitching. Yamamoto has two wins, and the Dodgers have an 18-inning win; the Blue Jays have dominated the rest. Shohei Ohtani gave up four runs in a 6-2 loss, and I don't expect him to last very long in this game. Max Scherzer in a Game 7, just like 2019 with the Nationals. Toronto to win.
The Blue Jays have been the best-hitting team during the postseason, with the best average (.284), the most home runs (27), the most RBIs (94), and the most hits (168). The Dodgers are the next closest way behind with 126 hits and 60 RBIs. That is solid proof that they're ready to be champions as they're up 3-2 in the series. In the last two games, the Blue Jays resembled the Dodgers in their wins, winning with their pitching. Now the Dodgers send Yoshi Yamamoto, who has had two complete-game wins in his last two starts. The Blue Jays dominated the last two games. Dodger bats have gone cold. I'm going to play the under and think about the winner.
The Blue Jays won their first two World Series by clinching in the sixth game at Toronto in 1992 and 1993, but they didn't have to go against a Yoshi Yamamoto pitching his best of the season. This is it for the Dodgers. They have to win, or it’s over, but they're going with their best as Yamamoto comes off two straight complete games. In his last one, he allowed one run and four hits and got the last 20 hitters out. Kevin Gausman is pitching for the Blue Jays, and in Game 2, he allowed three runs in 6.2 innings, which I think will be all the Dodgers need to win again behind Yamamoto. I'm looking for a game seven. Dodgers win tonight.
The World Series is now even, with each team winning two games and guaranteeing a return trip to Toronto for the 6th and possibly 7th game. In Game 5 tonight, we have Trey Yesavage going against left-hander Blake Snell, who got roughed up in the first outing in Game 1. That was the 11-4 Blue Jays win, one where they ran the pitch count up early on Snell to a hundred pitches thrown by the beginning of the 6th inning. I got a feeling that Snell is going to be much better at home with less monkeying around with the pitches. They took him out of his attack mode, and he knows it. I see another 5-1 Dodgers win.
If the Dodgers are to repeat as World Champions, winning Game 5 is essential, and if they're going to win, it's going to be with their pitching. Blake Snell got roughed up for five runs in the first game. He left three runners on base with no outs in the sixth inning that scored after he was pulled, reaching his 100 pitch limit, and six more runs scored for a nine-run inning. That's a stain on the Dodgers that Snell knows he has to fix. The Dodgers aren't hitting, batting only .243 in the playoffs with 59 RBIs in 14 playoff games, so they have to win by solid pitching, and I think they do tonight. I'm thinking Dodgers, 5-1. I bet the under.
After last night's 18-inning 6-5 Dodger win, you have to wonder if this series is going to make it back to Toronto for Games 6 and 7. The Blue Jays have a losing record on the road (43-44) while the Dodgers have dominated at home all year at 58-30. The Blue Jays had victory within their grasp last night, and the bullpen let it slip away three times. Tonight, it's Shane Bieber, whom the Blue Jays have won three of his last four starts, but let's be clear, this is not the same Bieber from Cleveland. Shohei Ohtani has won his last two starts, and his last start was his best of all, pitching six innings, allowing only two hits, no runs, and 10 strikeouts.
I got to ride to hot hand, and that is Shohei Ohtani, who has five home runs in his last two home playoff games. He has eight home runs in 13 playoff games, giving the Dodgers 20 homers for the playoffs, which is four fewer than the Blue Jays, who lead baseball. This game's going to get over with the help of Shane Bieber and the Blue Jays tired bullpen. Blue Jays pitching has a 4.23 ERA in the postseason and has allowed an MLB-high 112 hits and an MLB-high 25 home runs. I think this game gets over.
The Dodgers came back in Game 2 with a typical Dodgers 5-1 win to even things up. Game 2 looked like an extension of the NLCS against the Brewers, when the Dodgers pitching allowed one run in each game. The Dodgers starting pitching has set the tone in these playoffs, and they’ve gone under six of their last seven games. They’ve got another ace-type starter going in Game 3 with Tyler Glasnow, who hasn't lost since August, as the Dodgers have won seven straight games behind him, including the last three games that he's only allowed one run combined. He's getting better as the games become more crucial. Matt Scherzer goes for Toronto, and he lost 5-1 to the Dodgers in August. Dodgers to win.
We all know about Vladimir Guerrero's hot hitting in the playoffs, where he's batting .447 with six home runs and 12 RBIs, but not many people are talking about Ernie Clement, the third baseman for the Blue Jays, who's batting .435 in the playoffs with one home run and eight RBIs. I can get almost 3 to 1 odds on Clement getting an RBI in this game at home, where the Blue Jays are the best over team in baseball. Clement was a steady bat all season with 151 hits and 50 RBIs during the regular season, hitting .277. Clement is a good player to root for to get an RBI.
The Dodgers need to get back into this series in Game 2, and the one they're going to have to get a hold of is Kevin Gausman, who's been solid in his last three starts, not allowing more than two runs, but in his previous two starts at home against the Rays and the Red Sox, he allowed four runs each. The Dodgers won their final five games of the regular season and have gone 9-2 in the playoffs, with most of the help coming from the pitchers. But the Dodger hitters need to show up in this game, and I think he'll hit Gausman. Gausman over 2.5 runs.
The Blue Jays made a resounding statement against the hottest pitcher in baseball, and they did so with authority in their 11-4 win over the Dodgers in Game 1. The Blue Jays are now 59-29 at home on the season, and they're hitting .305 for the playoffs. The next closest team is batting .251, and they're also hitting an MLB-best 23 homers in the playoffs with 77 RBIs. The Blue Jays are also the best over team in baseball, cashing in 57.1% of the time. The pressure is going to be on Yoshi Yamamoto to pull the Dodgers even at Toronto. I'm looking for a high-scoring game with Kevin Gausman giving up a few runs in this game to help this game get over.
The Blue Jays led baseball with a .296 average, 20 home runs, and 66 RBIs in the playoffs while only having 64 strikeouts collectively. But they're about to go against the best pitcher they’ll face, maybe all season, in Blake Snell. He’s certainly the hottest pitcher they'll face all season, who has won his last six starts, allowing three runs combined with no runs allowed in the playoffs. Both his playoff starts went under the total. In his last six starts, he's had nine or more strikeouts in five of them. Over 6.5 strikeouts is the play.
The Dodgers have won their last five playoff games, and all five stayed under the total. So what's going to happen in Game 1 at Toronto? Blake Snell is pitching for the Dodgers, and he provides most of the answers from his recent work. All Snell has done in his last six starts is win, and his last two were on the road in the playoffs, and he didn't allow any runs. He's only allowed three runs in the six-game win streak. He's having an all-time playoff performance. If the Blue Jays can hold the Dodgers bats down just a little, and I believe they will, Snell will do the rest. Under 3.5 in the first five innings is the bet.
The thing that matters most right now is the pitching of Blake Snell, who has won his last six starts, allowing a total of three runs. This is why he's a -150 favorite, and it might be cheap based on his current form. This guy is pitching his best of the season, maybe career, and it came at the right time to start the playoffs. Not only Snell, but the entire starting pitching staff of the Dodgers is pitching their best of the season cumulatively for the NLCS, leading into the World Series. Snell hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts, both on the road, and pitched a season-high eight innings in his last game at Milwaukee. Dodgers to win.