History is on Toronto’s side this time. Apparently, the winner of the first game of the World Series has gone on to claim the championship 64.2% of the time, including 23 of the last 27 Fall Classics. To win the pennant for the first time in a generation, only to face the Dodgers, holding one of the sport’s deepest rosters, is both thrilling and daunting. But the Blue Jays managed to find a soft spot in Los Angeles’ $320 million lineup and executed their plan perfectly in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.

Now, obviously, losing the next game after being handed an 11-4 defeat in the World Series opener would put the Dodgers in a tough spot. Following the loss, Jeter made it clear why Shohei Ohtani and Co. should watch out.

“I think their offense is going to get better as the series extends. That’s why I said, you know, if the Toronto Blue Jays can steal a couple of games here early, it’s a problem. You know, now for the first time, pressure’s on the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the first time this postseason.” Jeter said during a Fox Sports segment alongsideAlex Rodriguez and David Ortiz.

“Tomorrow night is a must-win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. You do not want to go down to a team like this, having to win four out of five, and two in this stadium. You know, so the pressure’s on them. Pitching staff has been so great; they haven’t had to hit. They’re going to have to hit when they’re playing the Toronto Blue Jays.” Jeter added.

The thing is, even though the reigning champions have relied heavily on their starting pitching, they can’t expect near-historic performances every night. Their highly touted starter, Blake Snell, had an off night, and things only got worse in a disastrous sixth inning. That’s when the Blue Jays scored nine runs off Emmet Sheehan and Anthony Banda.

Throughout the October baseball, the Dodgers were clear with their winning formula. They delivered a quality start, scored just enough runs, and then handed the ball to one of their reliable late-inning relievers. Starting Saturday as they chase four more wins, they now face the challenge of rebuilding the bridge to the ninth inning. It’s a part of the game they had seemed to have under control until now.

The momentum stayed firmly with the Blue Jays all along, even after Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to narrow the gap. Now, let’s see if the Dodgers can turn things around on Saturday.

What are the chances that the Dodgers will recover from this?

For the 2024 World Series champs, making it to the 2025 World Series alone is phenomenal. But for the same team, to lose a World Series opener is tough, and losing by seven runs is even worse.

Intriguingly enough, this was the first time in the postseason that the Dodgers’ bullpen took a loss, despite holding a 4.88 ERA going into Friday. Their starting pitchers had done a decent job covering up this weakness in the first 10 games of the playoffs. Now the big question is whether they’ll have to do it for four more games just to shift the odds in the Dodgers’ favor for the second straight World Series title.

The Dodgers had every reason to feel confident heading into this game. Blake Snell had given up only two earned runs in 21 innings across three postseason starts. He was coming off an eight-inning gem against the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Blue Jays quickly put an end to that momentum.

The Dodgers star was able to retire only 12 of the 24 batters he faced. He gave up eight hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Eventually, Snell exited the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs in a tie. Emmet Sheehan came in to try and keep things even. However, only three batters later, the Blue Jays had pulled ahead 5-2, still with no outs.

Los Angeles will turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 against the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman.