Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays: World Series Game 1 Odds, Prediction
It’s a big-market, big-payroll World Series starting Friday night at Rogers Centre as the Dodgers and Blue Jays meet for the first time ever in the post-season in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
Los Angeles is a -150 favourite on the MLB odds with a total of 7.5 runs.
Betting Analysis
You want storylines? We have storylines in the 2025 World Series. The Dodgers are trying to become the first team to repeat as champions since the New York Yankees three-peated in 2000. The team prior to the Yankees to win back-to-back titles? That would be Toronto in 1992-93 as the Jays return to the big stage for the first time since.
Thus, this will be the first-ever playoff series between the franchises. Both have gone head-to-head, though, in the past two off-seasons in chasing big-ticket free agents in Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. By many accounts, the Blue Jays finished second for all those guys to Los Angeles. Ohtani is so far and away the best player in baseball it’s ridiculous. He will either pitch Game 3 or 4, probably 4, in Los Angeles.
Yamamoto had a disappointing, injury-plagued 2024 rookie year in MLB but was terrific this year and even better in the playoffs. He’s scheduled for Game 2 on Saturday. Sasaki had his own injury-plagued disappointing rookie year in 2025 but has become arguably the team’s top weapon out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
Los Angeles is 19-11 all-time vs. Toronto after taking two of three at Dodger Stadium in August.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers finished one game behind the Blue Jays in the overall standings this regular season or they would have home-field advantage in this series. The pitching staff was unbelievable in the four-game NLCS sweep of Milwaukee, which had the best record in the majors this season but managed exactly one run in each game. Dating to Game 4 of the NLDS, the Dodgers have allowed one run or fewer in five straight games, tied for the longest streak in a post-season in MLB history.
Shohei Ohtani was the NLCS MVP, capping it in Game 4 with arguably the greatest single-game performance in playoff history as he homered three times and pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and earned the victory on the mound.
There are multiple special bets available on Ohtani, including eight pitching strikeouts in the series and at least one stolen base at +275. He’s also the +165 favourite to win a second World Series MVP. Only four players in history have won multiple such.
Lefty Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner previously with Tampa Bay and San Diego, gets the call Friday and has been utterly dominant. In three playoff starts this year, he’s 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 28 strikeouts with six hits in 21.0 innings.
While Snell missed a large chunk of the year injured, he did face the Blue Jays on Aug. 9 at Dodger Stadium and earned the win with five shutout innings. The first inning will tell you on this guy. If he walks someone, the Jays are in great shape. If he doesn’t, then the Dodgers are probably winning.
Toronto Blue Jays
In a scenario where one team is coming off a gruelling seven-game LCS and the other is well-rested and coming off an LCS sweep, one might think the rested team has a major advantage. Yet this marks the fifth World Series where one swept the LCS and the other went a full seven. The full seven team won the previous four, last the Giants over the Tigers in 2012.
The Wild Card Era started in 1995 and teams with home-field advantage have won 21 of 30 World Series since. Those teams to win Game 1 have won the Fall Classic six of the past seven years.
As of publication, the Jays haven’t announced their starting pitcher, but it seems likely to be Kevin Gausman considering he started Game 1 of the ALDS and ALCS. He did have to pitch an inning of relief on Monday in Game 7 vs. Seattle, but that really shouldn’t affect things this far out. Basically a bullpen session.
In four total appearances in these playoffs, he’s 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 18.0 innings. Gausman didn’t face the Dodgers this year. Toronto is +180 on the series line and Los Angeles -220 – sadly, I do like the Dodgers in six and that the series ends in six is the +210 favourite over seven (+220). The better bet is Over 5.5 games at -165.
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