LIVE: Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series Game 1 FAQ (FOX)
TORONTO – The World Series had not crossed over the border since Joe Carter’s blast crossed over the left-field wall at the building now known as Rogers Centre.
Behold, at long last, a more worldly World Series that begins Friday night in a town still buzzing over a similarly cinematic swat from George Springer and eager for the Blue Jays’ battle with the mighty defending champion Dodgers.
“We’re this country’s team,” said Blue Jays Game 1 starter Trey Yesavage. “We want to go out there and do everything we possibly can to make this country proud of us.”
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How long has it been since Canada has hosted the World Series? The Phillies catcher squatting behind the plate for the pitch that Carter crushed in the Game 6 walk-off was Darren Daulton, whose teammate two years later, Gary Varsho, eventually named his son after him. And now you can find the 29-year-old Daulton Varsho patrolling center field for the American League champs.
Yeah. It’s been a while.
Of course, it hasn’t been that long for the Dodgers, who made the cross-country and cross-border trek here after the lengthy layoff resulting from their tidy sweep of the Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
Nearly two years after a private jet became very publicly tracked under the suspicion that Shohei Ohtani might be Blue Jays-bound, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar really did come to Toronto this time. And while the Blue Jays are trying to win it all for the first time since the back-to-back titles of 1992 and ‘93, Ohtani’s Dodgers are themselves looking to become the first team to go back to back since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
“I think everybody is locked and loaded and ready to see some history,” Dodgers superstar shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We’re ready to make it.”
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The Dodgers’ utterly dominant run of starting pitching (a 1.40 ERA through 10 postseason games) has them looking like they’re on cruise control in October. The Blue Jays will try to make them work with their powerful and patient approach at the plate. And they’re giving the Game 1 nod to the freshest of arms, as Yesavage – one of the great stories of these playoffs – will be making just the seventh start of his MLB career.
Game 1 is a big one. The winner of Game 1 in the World Series has gone on to win it all in 76 of the prior 120 series (63%) and, more pointedly, 24 of the 30 Fall Classics (80%) in the Wild Card Era (since 1995).
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 1 is on Friday at Rogers Centre, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on FOX.
All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada. Sportsnet is MLB's exclusive English language broadcaster in Canada for every Postseason game, while TVA Sports will be covering the entire AL Postseason and the World Series in French and Broadcaster RDS will cover the entire NL Postseason in French.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Dodgers: LHP Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA)
For at least the first two World Series games, the Dodgers will roll out the same rotation that dominated the Brewers in the NLCS, beginning with Snell in Game 1, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2.
Snell is coming off a gem of a start against the Brewers in NLCS Game 1, eight scoreless innings in which he struck out 10, walked none, allowed just one hit and faced the minimum. Overall this postseason, he is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA (two earned runs in 21 innings) and 28 strikeouts against five walks.
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Blue Jays: RHP Trey Yesavage (1-0, 3.21 ERA)
This will be Yesavage’s fourth postseason start after making just three MLB starts in the regular season. No other pitcher has made multiple postseason starts within his first seven overall appearances, but Yesavage just keeps raising the bar. Yesavage is coming off a great bounceback start against the Mariners in Game 6 of the ALCS, when he threw 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts, leaning again on his excellent splitter. That will be put to the test immediately against the Dodgers’ order, but the 22-year-old has the advantage of the unknown. This Los Angeles lineup has never faced Yesavage, and with the excellent deception between his fastball and splitter coming from a sky-high release point, that has been an obvious advantage for him.
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What are the starting lineups?
Dodgers: Ohtani and Mookie Betts will be the top two and, beyond them, there was some light shuffling in the order. After tweaking the lineup quite a bit during the NLDS, the Dodgers used the same nine starters in all four NLCS games.
- Shohei Ohtani, DH
- Mookie Betts, SS
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Will Smith, C
- Teoscar Hernández, RF
- Max Muncy, 3B
- Kiké Hernández, LF
- Tommy Edman, 2B
- Andy Pages, CF
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Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are throwing Bo Bichette right into the fire at second base, a position he hasn’t played since 2019 in the Minor Leagues. This allows the Blue Jays to maximize their offensive upside while still keeping George Springer at DH, where he’s been all postseason.
- George Springer, DH
- Davis Schneider, LF
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
- Bo Bichette, 2B
- Alejandro Kirk, C
- Daulton Varsho, CF
- Ernie Clement, 3B
- Myles Straw, RF
- Andrés Giménez, SS
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How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Dodgers: Roki Sasaki has emerged as the closer after dominating since his shift to the 'pen. The bridge to Sasaki has been pretty consistent, with Anthony Banda, Blake Treinen and Emmet Sheehan being used in leverage this postseason. But the Dodgers will be without Alex Vesia at least for the beginning of the World Series as he and his wife handle what the team described as a "deeply personal family matter."
Blue Jays: Jeff Hoffman looks like a closer capable of shutting down games in the World Series, which wasn’t always the case in the regular season. He came up huge in Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS, and John Schneider is comfortable pushing him two innings in the right spot. Louis Varland has pitched in 10 of the Blue Jays’ 11 postseason games, so it’s just a matter of which inning you’ll see him in, while Seranthony Domínguez is the other setup man. One variable is Brendon Little, who had an ugly outing in the Game 5 ALCS loss, but the Blue Jays will need a lefty eventually. Braydon Fisher could be asked to step into bigger spots, too, while Bassitt and Eric Lauer are the likely long relievers.
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Any injuries of note?
Dodgers: Smith, who is dealing with a hairline fracture in his right hand, returned to the starting lineup during the NLDS and hasn’t missed a start since. Edman continues to manage his right ankle, which landed him on the injured list twice this year. Reliever Tanner Scott, who struggled in leverage in the regular season, believes he has recovered enough from a lower body abscess procedure, but he was not added to the World Series roster.
Blue Jays: Even though he was added to the World Series roster, Bichette, who has been dealing with a left knee injury, remains the big story leading into Game 1. He'll test that knee while handling second-base duties and batting cleanup.
Anthony Santander was removed from the Blue Jays’ ALCS roster in the middle of the series with a back injury, which makes him ineligible for the World Series. Springer is the only other injury of note after he took a 96 mph heater off his right kneecap in Game 5 of the ALCS, but judging by the heroic, three-run homer he hit in Game 7, he is just fine.
Who is hot and who is not?
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Dodgers: Will Ohtani be able to build off one of the greatest individual single-game performances of all time and shrug off a slump? The Dodgers certainly hope so. Edman (5-for-15) and Smith (6-for-15) also had strong runs during the NLCS.
On the other hand, Pages is just 3-for-35 this postseason. While he hasn't done much at the plate, he will continue to start games because the Dodgers don't have any other viable everyday options in center field, with Edman still managing his ankle.
Blue Jays: Is anyone hotter than Guerrero right now? The ALCS MVP is batting .442 with six home runs and a 1.440 OPS in the postseason, including six walks and just three strikeouts. The Dodgers will need to shape their entire pitching game plan around him. Springer is on a roll, too, while Clement may be the most underrated hitter coming into this series, batting .429. The Blue Jays would love to get a little more out of Kirk offensively, but at this point, that’s being picky. This entire lineup has been rolling since the ALDS and John Schneider’s only challenge is writing the names down in the right order. Every iteration has worked so far.
Anything else fans might want to know?
• This is the Blue Jays’ first trip to the World Series since 1993, the scene of Joe Carter’s famous walk-off home run in Game 6 against the Phillies.