Dodgers season overview
In the 2025 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Toronto Blue Jays, the current standings being 2-3 respectively. Returning as the defending champions, the Dodgers hope to best the Blue Jays, who are making their first World Series appearance since 1993. The matchup has brought a lot of excitement and competition to the field, with the teams neck-and-neck as one tries to come out as World Series champion.
The Dodgers faced a lot of competition on their way to the series.
On Oct. 9th, the Dodgers arose as victors against the Philadelphia Phillies in a close 2-1 game to win the National League Division Series. This win secured their spot in the league championship against the Milwaukee Brewers, where they could eventually advance to the World Series.
Taking place at Dodger Stadium, the showdown against the Phillies lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes. The first six innings were tight, and remained scoreless.
At the top of the seventh inning, batter Nick Castellanos was able to hit after his second strike. Castellanos hit a two-base hit, where he barely slid into second base. This allowed for runner Max Kepler of the Phillies to run through home base, putting the first home-run on the score. This run was matched by the Dodgers at the bottom of the seventh inning, scored by Justin Dean.
The game continued into the eleventh inning, ending in a dramatic walk-off by runner Hyeseong Kim. This was caused by an error made by the Phillies’ pitcher, which allowed Kim to run into home base for the game-winning run.
Ryan Chapman (’29), member of the Samo boys baseball team, says, “The walkoff was my favorite part of the game. My dad and I got really excited.”
In this year’s league, the Dodgers’ record has been 93-69. Right off the bat, they won seven games in a row, establishing their strength as defending World Series champions. They continued through the season and won the National League West title for the fourth season in a row.
The Dodgers played their toughest games of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers. The last time they played was during the regular season, where the Milwaukee Brewers dominated against the Dodgers in a six-game sweep.
On Oct. 13, the Dodgers took their first series lead against the Brewers. After five scoreless innings, Freddie Freedman of the Dodgers had a solo home run, putting the first point on the scoreboard for the Dodgers and the second point being put on by Mookie Betts, securing the win for the Dodgers.
On Oct. 14, the Dodgers secured their second win in the series, besting the Brewers 5-1 at Milwaukee. At the bottom of the first inning, Brewers batter Jackson Chourio kicked off the game by hitting a ball out of the park. At the top of the second inning, Dodgers batter Teoscar Hernandez hits a solo home run in the same fashion as the former, bringing the Dodgers into the game. Shortly after, Enrique Hernandez made it to home plate. At the top of the sixth, Max Muncy of the Dodgers makes a home run after hitting a fly ball to center field. Andy Pages wrapped up the game in the eighth inning, bringing the Dodgers 2-0 in the series.
“Our bullpen is really strong, especially with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki coming back from an injury.” says Vasquez (’28), after Yamamoto pitched nine innings for the Dodgers in their second game against the Brewers.
On Oct. 16, the Dodgers continued their winning streak against the Brewers, making them 3-0 in the series. The Dodgers ended with a 3-1 win. Kicking off the first inning, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers scored the first home run of the game. The Brewers put up a fight in the second inning, when Caleb Durbin made it to home and evened out the score. The sixth inning was especially exciting for the Dodgers, as Will Smith and Freedman both scored and ensured the Dodger’s third win in the seven-game series.
“I’m really happy with how they’ve been doing because they lost every game against the Brewers in the regular season, so people thought we were going to lose but I’m glad we’re doing well.” says Chapman (’29)
On Oct. 17, the Dodgers completed their four-game sweep against the Brewers, giving them a spot in the World Series. The Dodgers kicked off the start of the game in fierce fashion; Ohtani, Betts, and Smith brought home runs for the Dodgers. Ohtani also scored in the fourth and seventh inning, playing an outstanding game. The Brewers tried to fight back in the eighth inning when Durbin scored, but it wasn’t nearly enough to out beat the Dodgers. Not only did Ohtani hit three home runs, his pitching was outmatched. During six scoreless innings, Ohtani struck out ten Brewers batters. His performance made him MVP, and the first player to achieve that statistical combination in a game.
So far, the competition between the Dodgers and Blue Jays has been extremely tight, with long games and close scores. The rest of the series remains uncertain, as each team fights to obtain the World Series title. The following games are set to be on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. in Toronto.