Blue Jays’ Biggest Challenge Yet Awaits, Facing Dodgers in World Series
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The Toronto Blue Jays just delivered their fans the best moment they have seen in more than three decades on Monday night, dramatically defeating the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the ALCS and advancing to the World Series.
It was perfect, from George Springer's mammoth home run to grab the lead to the heart-stopping final six outs io officially close it out, one of the best evenings in Canadian sports history.
It's been a landmark season for Toronto in more ways than one, winning their first AL East title in 10 years and now headed to the Fall Classic powered by the superstar first baseman they locked up for life before the campaign began.
Now though, they go up against the kind of test that would make an ordinary team utterly crumble: the monumental task of facing the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game series to decide it all.
Red-Hot Dodgers Are Likely Even Better Than Last Year
Los Angeles trounced the Blue Jays hated rival New York Yankees last season at this stage four games to one, but this Dodgers team might just be a whole heck of a lot more scary now that they have found their stride at the right time.
If the combination of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman wasn't enough to scare you, it's the pitching staff that has really taken the next step from a year ago. Adding Blake Snell in the offseason, the champs also have a healthy Tyler Glasnow alongside a now pitching again Ohtani and a Yoshinobu Yamamoto who has taken the next step into superstardom.
The bullpen all of a sudden has a shiny new shutdown closer in young sensation Roki Sasaki, who has pitched to a 1.13 ERA in eight playoff innings out of the bullpen and looks more and more comfortable in that role with three saves already.
This is a historically strong roster, and it's one that is hungry to claim a second straight title.
Dodgers Have Cruised Through National League
Going into the playoffs, nobody questioned how scary this Los Angeles team was, but they were even more impressive than many thought to get here. After handling the Philadelphia Phillies -- who won 96 games and the NL East by 13 games -- three games to one, up next was the best record in baseball Milwaukee Brewers.
In a matchup that most suspected would be close, the Dodgers absolutely destroyed Milwaukee, sweeping them in four games and seeing arguably the greatest individual single-game performance in the history of baseball from Ohtani in Game 4.
Simply put, you could not draw up a scarier matchup for Toronto.
Do Blue Jays Have Real Chance to Beat Los Angeles?
It's baseball, so there is no questioning the fact of whether or not Toronto can win, they absolutely can. The test they are about to face though is one the likes of which they have not come anywhere close to seeing during their run through the American League.
The Blue Jays had better buckle up for a fight, because giving the Dodgers a real series is going to make the seven-game slugfest against the Mariners feel like the easiest thing they did all year.
It will take Toronto's best all series long to even make it competitive, and even then it could not be enough. If the Blue Jays show up and perform at the level they've shown to be capable of over the last few months though, this team is capable of going up against whatever challenge may face them.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.