by Mark Langill
If the Dodgers are to win the World Series, the championship trophy will have to be declared at customs.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ 6–2 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday guarantees the World Series will end in Canada.
Following the 18-inning thriller in Game 3, a 6–5 victory which ended on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run, the sequel took half as many innings. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the relative brevity produced twice the regret after the home-field advantage melted on a balmy evening.
With the series tied at 2–2, the Dodgers still have a chance to regain the inside lane with left-hander Blake Snell opposing Trey Yesavage in Game 5, in a rematch from the series opener won 11–4 by the Blue Jays in Toronto.
The Dodgers’ dominating starting pitching throughout the postseason helped take the pressure off the bullpen.
But it also took the heat off the offense. With little time remaining in the season, manager Dave Roberts might juggle the lineup in today’s Game 5.
“We haven’t found our rhythm,” Roberts said. “We haven’t. It sort of draws dead at certain parts of the lineup and different parts, different innings, different games. Guys are competing. Certainly, in the postseason, you’re seeing everyone’s best.”
Against the rookie Yesavage, who at age 22, became the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series Game 1, the Dodgers managed two runs on four hits in four innings.
Roberts hopes another look at Yesavage gives his hitters a better look.
“My hope is we regroup tomorrow, gather the information that we had from Yesavage, and keep him in the hitting zone, and understand what that split does, which is certainly helpful, and when we get the fastball, really get on it,” Roberts said.
The 1963 Dodgers will remain the only team in franchise history to clinch a championship on their home field, but the Dodgers do have history on their side in this scenario.
The last time the Dodgers hosted Game 5 with the series tied was 1981. Lefty Jerry Reuss outdueled the Yankees’ Ron Guidry 2–1, thanks to back-to-back home runs by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager off Guidry in the seventh inning. The Dodgers wrapped up the series in six games with a 9–2 victory at Yankee Stadium.
The only other time occurred in 1965 when Sandy Koufax beat the Minnesota Twins 7–0 at Dodger Stadium. Koufax came back on three days’ rest in Minnesota and pitched a 2–0 victory in the decisive Game 7.
2025 World Series: Dodgers ready for final home show was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.