Dodgers vs. Blue Jays World Series: TV schedule, how they got here, and predictions

The Fall Classic is here.

Thanks to their sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series after taking home the title a year ago. The Dodgers are in their fifth World Series in the past ten years, with a chance to win their third title since 2020.

On the other side of the diamond? The Toronto Blue Jays. This is Toronto’s first trip to the Fall Classic since 1993, when the Blue Jays won their second World Series in a row after winning the title the year before.

Here are the start times, dates and television information for the World Series.

Home-field advantage is determined by regular-season win-loss record. While the Dodgers finished the year with a 93-69 record, Toronto bested them by one game, finishing at 94-68.

As such, any potential Game 7 will be in Toronto.

Game 1: Dodgers at Blue Jays, Friday, October 24, 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 2: Dodgers at Blue Jays, Saturday, October 25, 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 3: Blue Jays at Dodgers, Monday, October 27, 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 4: Blue Jays at Dodgers, Tuesday, October 28, 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 5*: Blue Jays at Dodgers, Wednesday, October 29 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 6*: Dodgers at Blue Jays, Friday, October 31 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 7*: Dodgers at Blue Jays, Saturday, November 1 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX

*If necessary

The final two teams left standing took two very different paths to this moment.

While they finished with nearly identical records, Toronto’s was good enough for the Blue Jays to be seeded at the top of the American League, and enjoy a bye during the Wild Card Round.

However, the Dodgers were the No. 3 seed in the National League, and began their playoff journey by hosting the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card.

Los Angeles took the first two games of that series to move on to the NLDS, where they began on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, the No. 2 seed in the NL. The Dodgers took both games in Philadelphia, and then closed out that series by taking Game 4 in extra innings.

Their reward? Starting the NLCS on the road against the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers. But the Dodgers swept that series, getting a historic performance from Shohei Ohtani in the series-clinching game.

As for the Blue Jays, they took on the New York Yankees in the ALDS, winning the first two games to take a 2-0 series lead as the series shifted back to the Big Apple. After the Yankees took Game 3 many believed momentum had shifted to New York, but the Blue Jays slammed that door shut by taking Game 4, and the series, the following night.

That gave the Blue Jays a chance to rest, as the other ALDS series between the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers went the distance. After the Mariners took that fifth and deciding game, the ALCS began in Toronto on October 12.

Toronto lost the first two games of the series at home, and headed to Seattle facing elimination on the road. But the Blue Jays took the next two games to even the series, turning the ALCS into a best-of-three with the final two games at the Rogers Centre. Seattle took Game 5 to put the Blue Jays back on the brink of elimination, but Toronto took the next two games to book their spot in the Fall Classic.

If you are a Blue Jays fan, you might be leaning into history when the World Series begins.

In 1988 the Oakland A’s swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, and then lost to the Dodgers in the World Series after Los Angeles needed seven games to beat the New York Mets.

In 2006, the Detroit Tigers swept the A’s in the ALCS, and then lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, who needed seven games to get by the Mets.

In 2007 the Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then were swept by the Red Sox. Boston’s series with the Cleveland Indians went seven games.

In 2012 the Tigers swept the New York Yankees, and then were swept by the San Francisco Giants, who needed seven games to defeat the Cardinals.

Only the A’s and the Tigers even won games in their respective Fall Classics.

So if history holds the Blue Jays, who needed seven games to beat the Mariners while the Dodgers swept the Brewers, are going to win the World Series.

However, history might not be enough for Toronto to overcome four impressive starting pitchers — Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani — and a lineup that starts with one of the best players on the planet and offers no easy outs.

World Series Prediction: Dodgers in six games
World Series MVP: Shohei Ohtani