The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the World Series as the heavy favourite to repeat as champions for the first time in the 21st century after walloping 9 of 10 postseason games against the Reds, Phillies, and the team with the best regular-season record, the Brewers. But the Jays, on the other hand, were completely different. Nobody thought of them as even qualified for the postseason when their last season ended at the last-place team of the AL East with a 74-88 record. But here we are, the Jays are playing the final series of the season with the Goliath of baseball in the very first season of their franchise icon Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s contract extension that they signed for 14 years, $500 million last April.

And they are not just playing after finishing their season with a 94-68 record to win the AL East; they completely outdueled the Yankees and the Mariners on their path to the pennant. And then, in Game 1 of the World Series, they crushed the Dodgers 11-4, even after the Dodgers had an early 2-0 lead. In doing so, they get on Blake Snell in a way nobody ever had, at least in this postseason.  Then Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam broke the game wide open.

But the Dodgers are champions for a reason. Los Angeles silenced the Toronto crowd in Game 2 with a 5-1 win to tie the series. Luke Bellus of TSN summed it up perfectly. He wrote, “You thought it was going to be easy? The Los Angeles Dodgers respond to a seven-run loss in Game 1 of the World Series with a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday night.” And the Dodgers’ Game 2 win changes the narrative entirely. As Bellus pointed out, “With the series moving back to Los Angeles for the next three games, the Dodgers’ odds to win the World Series have moved back in their favour.”

And as per FanDuel ‘s report, before Game 1, the Dodgers were -230 favorites. After losing, they dropped to -116. Now, the Dodgers are once again back to -215. This implies there is a 68.25% chance of winning the title. The Blue Jays’ chances, on the other hand, have tumbled. Entering Game 1 with +190, they shifted the narrative largely, though it was still the favourite for Game 2. But after dropping the Game 2 odds fell from -102 (a favorite) to +180 (an underdog).

This shift is terrible for Toronto, and Vladdy’s dream is suddenly in real danger.

Vladdy’s quest for the crown

This World Series means everything to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has carried the weight of this team since the Jays signed him as a teenager in 2015. The Blue Jays signed him with the biggest deal in franchise history this season. And Vladdy proved he was worth every penny when he ended the regular season hitting .292 with 23 homers and 84 RBIs. And what he did in the postseason is completely legendary.  He has carried Toronto on his back, hitting .431 with 6 home runs, 12 RBIs, and 1.343 OPS.

And in Game 2 of the World Series? Vladdy failed to score early in the game when the first and third bases were loaded after George Springer’s double and Nathan Lukes’ hit, but managed one of the team’s four hits against the Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Despite that, he put on a great defensive display, bringing hope for the Jays entering the third game.

The series now shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3, which is scheduled for Monday, October 27, at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers slated Tyler Glasnow to start the game, and the Jays will start with 41-year-old Max Scherzer.

Glasnow has been nearly unhittable this postseason, allowing just one run in 13 1/3 innings (0.68 ERA) with 18 strikeouts. And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a  .357 batting average and three runs batted in against him at 14 at-bats. “Mad Max”, the three-time Cy Young Award winner with two World Series rings, pitched a very vintage game in the ALCS Game 4 against the Mariners, where he held the Mariners to two runs over 5 2/3 innings to take the win.  It will be his first start in the World Series since 2023, in a career of allowing seven runs in 21 hits in 19.1 innings he pitched in the World Series.