MLB Baseball
2025-10-24 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Toronto Blue Jays
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : MLB World Series Game 1
Friday 24th October 2025 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)
Preview
One big swing from George Springer took the Toronto Blue Jays back into the World Series for the first time in thirty-two years at the expense of the Seattle Mariners. The American League Winners did have to play all seven games that were scheduled for the Championship Series, but the Blue Jays will have to step up another level if they are going to win a first World Series since back to back successes in 1992 and 1993.
The final obstacle looks to be the biggest one with the Los Angeles Dodgers the National League Pennant Winners.
They are also the defending Champions and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to have peaked at a perfect time having rolled through the post-season. Three opponents have been beaten, but most impressive is the fact that the Dodgers have won nine of the ten Playoff games played.
All four road games played in the 2025 Playoffs have been won by the Dodgers and they are very much doing this behind strong starting pitching. This looks to be a clear edge for Los Angeles who have four capable starters who have been able to mow through the Innings and make sure the bullpen has not been under much pressure.
In fairness to the Dodgers, they have made the right decisions out of the bullpen and they have found a couple of Relievers that can put the finishing touches on the performances of the starters.
First up in Game 1 is Blake Snell who has allowed two runs in three Playoff starts, which have covered 21 Innings. That has laid positive foundations for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Blake Snell should not be intimidated about opening on the road considering he has yet to give up a run in two road starts in the post-season.
Back in August, Blake Snell completed 5 Innings in a home game against the Toronto Blue Jays and he had 10 Strike Outs without giving up a run. This is also a pitcher who has allowed three runs in 10 Innings thrown in the World Series for the Tampa Bay Rays and Blake Snell's run of strong form will certainly give the Dodgers full belief in his ability to set them up for another road success.
We have yet to hear confirmation about the Toronto Blue Jays starter, but everything is leaning towards Trey Yesavage beginning Game 1 and Kevin Gausman starting Game 2. The rookie pitcher would actually be making more starts in the Playoffs compared with the regular season if Trey Yesavage is given the honour of going to the mound first in Game 1 and that says everything about how well he has pitched.
He was never going to match the first Playoff start against the New York Yankees when bamboozling that powerful batting lineup, but Trey Yesavage has remained a tough pitcher to face. Trey Yesavage allowed seven runs in almost 10 Innings thrown in the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, and he issued three Walks in both of those starts against the Mariners.
This is another big test for the rookie against a Los Angeles batting lineup that is experienced and who bat deep.
Of course there is still a chance that Kevin Gausman goes up first considering he has begun Game 1 in both the Divisional Round and Championship Series, but he threw an Innings in Game 7 of the win over the Seattle Mariners. That could leave Gausman vulnerable on what would be a three day rest and the expectation is that the Blue Jays will want him to have that extra day so he can go in Game 2 without any restrictions.
These teams met in the regular season in a three game set hosted by the Dodgers and it was Los Angeles who won two of three games.
Prediction
The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the World Series in different ways with the latter sweeping through the Championship Series and the former needing all seven games.
One question for the Dodgers is whether the rest will have affected the rhythm of the batting lineup, but this is a deep team and one that could find big Hits from anyone.
Shohei Ohtani's performance in the Game 4 win over Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series has to be a real threat for the Toronto Blue Jays to face.
Blake Snell will not have pitched in eleven days, but he has been playing at a high level and that may give the Dodgers the edge.
You cannot ignore how dangerous Toronto could be, especially if rookie Trey Yesavage lights things up as he did in the first Playoff start against the New York Yankees.
However, the Seattle Mariners were able to load up the bases and were a couple of Hits away from really hurting Yesavage and this Los Angeles Dodgers team bat much deeper than the Mariners.
Toronto have had a very good season and deserve to be back in the World Series, and this is a batting lineup that will make teams work to force the Outs. They were beaten twice in this ballpark in the Championship Series and the Mariners will feel they had chances to win the two games in which they were defeated so the edge has to be with the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the World Series with a victory.
Last year they beat another American East team in five games to win the World Series and that feels like something that the Dodgers could achieve again.
Those following the Prop Bets selected on these pages during the Playoffs will be very pleased with the returns.
With an 'undecided' Toronto starter, those are perhaps harder to find in Game 1, while Blake Snell's form on the mound makes it tough to target Toronto batters.
If it is indeed Trey Yesavage as some expect for the Blue Jays, the extra film tape is helping batters and that was perhaps seen in the Championship Series in the two starts against Seattle.
The rookie was still very good, but he wasn't untouchable as he was when facing the New York Yankees and this deep Los Angeles batting lineup has to be respected.
Backing both Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez to find a Hit pays at 2.70 and that is a decent enough price.
This is a park where batters have success and Freddie Freeman is a good looking 6.75 for a Home Run.
The Pick :
Toronto Blue Jays 3-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
