World Series Preview: Yamamoto On the Bump as Dodgers Look to Even Series

TORONTO—Well, that wasn’t how we all planned on the 2025 World Series to start.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have put themselves in an early 1-0 hole against the Toronto Blue Jays, who tipped the score after a nine-run sixth inning, chasing left-hander Blake Snell and feasting off a Dodgers bullpen that has been their biggest weakness this entire season.

While many will be quick to blame the pitching, particularly in that inning, a lot of blame should go on the Dodgers’ offense, which, despite chasing Blue Jays young starter Trey Yesavage after just four innings, was unable to cash in more than two runs despite having multiple men on base.

On the day, the Dodgers went a combined 3-for-7 with men in scoring position, leaving seven men on base, and perhaps the most significant wasted opportunities came with Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani in the second inning as neither bat could come through with the bases loaded.

However, today is a new day, but the odds still do not favor the Dodgers in this series as of right now.

Historically, since the World Series became a best-of-seven, the winner of Game One has gone on to win the World Series 74 of 114 times (64%), and over the last twenty years, that percentage has risen to 80% since 2000.

The Dodgers will look to even the series and head back home to Los Angeles with home-field advantage. With going down 0-2 in the series not an option, Game Two is the first “must-win” game for the Dodgers in the entire postseason.

Pitching Probables

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 1.83 ERA) vs Kevin Gausman (2-1, 2.00 ERA)

While Blake Snell was unable to handle the Blue Jays ‘ contact-first approach offense, it’ll be up to right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game Two to try to even the series back to Los Angeles.

Yamamoto has been stellar this October, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.83 ERA, and despite a bad start in Game Three of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the right-hander rebounded in his next start, tossing the first complete game in the postseason since the 2017 season.

While Snell has been the Dodgers’ best starter this October, Yamamoto has been the Dodgers’ ace from start to finish and looks to continue to add to his early postseason legacy after being the winning pitcher in Game Two of last year’s Fall Classic over the New York Yankees.

Taking the ball for the Blue Jays in Game Two will be old adversary Kevin Gausman, who, like Yamamoto, has turned in a pretty great postseason for Toronto.

Kevin Gausman has pitched 18 innings across four postseason games, with a 2.00 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and a 1.06 WHIP. He started twice in Game One of the postseason, then again in ALCS Game Five, and later contributed as a reliever in ALCS Game Seven. In both of his Game One starts, he was pulled after 5.2 innings.

In his career, Guasman is 2-3 with a 3.57 ERA against Los Angeles, but since 2021, across four starts between his time with the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays, that ERA is lowered to 2.57.

Who to Watch

One player has seen right-hander Kevin Gausman more than anyone in the Dodgers lineup, and that is all-star shortstop Mookie Betts.

Coming into today’s game, Betts is 15-for-49 (.306) against Gausman with three home runs, seven RBIs, and four walks.

The Dodgers need the offense to match the Blue Jays, especially if their pitching cannot get the job done as they did in Game One, so today, they’ll need their MVP trio to set the table, and it starts with Mookie Betts.

Where to Watch

The 2025 World Series will be aired exclusively on FOX and the Fox Sports App at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET)

Betting Odds

The Dodgers aim to rebound after losing Game 1 in the series. Bookmakers have set the Dodgers as -144 favorites on the moneyline, with the Blue Jays as underdogs at +121 odds. Los Angeles is also favored on the run line with -1.5. The total runs for the game are projected at 7.5.

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