History is Blue Jays’ Ally as World Series Shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3
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So far, the 2025 World Series has been a treat.
The Toronto Blue Jays got Bo Bichette back for Game 1 and blew up offensively, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-4. It was an offensive explosion worthy of the numbers Toronto has put up all postseason. In fact, the Blue Jays set a record for most runs in a single inning with nine.
In Game 2, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto made history of his own in LA’s 5-1 win. He threw a complete-game four-hitter, his second straight postseason complete game victory. He was the first pitcher to do that since Curt Schilling did it in 2001. Yamamoto also retired the last 20 hitters he faced, matching a record set by Don Larsen in his 1956 World Series perfect game.
So, as the series shifts to Los Angeles for the next three games, starting on Monday, both the Blue Jays and the Dodgers appear to have brought their best. But will be it be enough for the Dodgers? Believe it or not, history is not on their side.
The World Series History on Toronto’s Side
The League Championship Series were a study in contrasts. The Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers in four games and had nearly a week to rest. The Blue Jays had to go the distance with the Seattle Mariners, playing a dramatic seven-game series that saw Toronto win on a George Springer home run in the seventh inning.
Per ESPN Insights, it was just the fifth time in the LCS era in which one team swept its series and the other went seven games before meeting in the Fall Classic. And this is where history helps the Blue Jays.
The other four teams that won a seven-game LCS beat the team that swept the LCS in the World Series.
The Dodgers swept the NLCS, the Blue Jays won in 7 🤝
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 22, 2025
This will be the fifth World Series matchup where one team swept the LCS and the other went the distance.
The team that won in 7 went on to win the World Series in each previous instance 👀 pic.twitter.com/1AHIeUeofW
In 1988 the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. In 206, it was the St. Louis Cardinals beating the Detroit Tigers. In 2007, it was the Boston Red Sox beating the Colorado Rockies. And, in 2021, it was the San Francisco Giants beating the Tigers.
If history is any guide, the die has already been cast. But it’s baseball, so one never knows. The Dodgers could be the team ghat breaks the mold. After all, they set the trend way back in 1988, four years before the Blue Jays won their first World Series.
WORLD SERIES
Best-of-7
Game 1
Toronto 11, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
Game 2
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Toronto 1 (series tied, 1-1)
Game 3: Monday
Toronto vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Game 3 -- 8 p.m. (FOX/FOX Deportes)
Game 4: Tuesday
Toronto vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Game 4 -- 8 p.m. (FOX/FOX Deportes)
Game 5: Wednesday
Toronto vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Game 5 -- 8 p.m. (FOX/FOX Deportes)
Game 6: Friday
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto, Game 6* -- 8 p.m. (FOX/FOX Deportes)
Game 7: Saturday
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto, Game 7* -- 8 p.m. (FOX/FOX Deportes)
*-if necessary
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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