2025 World Series Preview: Blue Jays vs Dodgers Odds, Predictions, and Best Bets

The 2025 World Series begins on Friday with the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers for Games 1 and 2 before the series heads to California and Dodger Stadium for Games 3, 4, and 5 (if required).

Los Angeles, the defending champions, are heavy favorites to win the Fall Classic at every sportsbook. Toronto was a fringe playoff team coming into the season but defied all expectations to win the AL East before eliminating the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.

Shohei Ohtani, fresh off a three-homerun, 10-strikeout game in Game 4 of the NLCS, is the clear favorite for World Series MVP. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Ohtani’s nearest rival for the award. Guerrero has been red-hot throughout these playoffs and needs to have a big-time series for the Blue Jays to win their first title in 32 years.

World Series Odds

• Blue Jays — +184
• Dodgers — +220

World Series MVP Odds

• Shohei Ohtani — +165
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — +600
• George Springer — +1000
• Freddie Freeman — +1600
• Mookie Betts — +1600
• Teoscar Hernandez — +1700
• Max Muncy — +2000
• Blake Snell — +2000
• Daulton Varsho — +2500
• Alejandro Kirk — +3000

Rotation Advantage for LA

The Dodgers’ rotation has powered them to a 9-1 record in this postseason. Blake Snell has a 0.86 ERA. Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow have had truly dominant starts. As a result, Dave Roberts’ bullpen hasn’t been that exposed, and Los Angeles has avoided using the same relievers too frequently in a series.

Toronto has had strong starts from Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, and Trey Yesavage, but it’s not all been easy sailing. Bieber struggled in the ALDS. Yesavage had a rough start in Game 2 of the ALCS. The Jays’ bullpen is flawed, and John Schneider is bound to need some length from Chris Bassitt in one or two World Series games.

Stacked Offenses

Toronto leads all playoff teams with an outrageous 143 wRC+ in these playoffs. Los Angeles has the second-highest mark at 113, but that’s still a real chasm between the two lineups.

The Jays have scored 25 more runs than the Dodgers in one more playoff game. Toronto’s offense has been elite all year long, while the Dodgers’ lineup hasn’t been as explosive as its reputation might suggest, with Ohtani and Will Smith among the big names who have endured playoff slumps.

With Los Angeles holding a clear advantage in the pitching department, Toronto needs its lineup to outslug the Dodgers. That means big series for Guerrero, George Springer, the returning Bo Bichette, and others. 

Decisive Factors

It’s too simplistic to frame this as the Dodgers’ rotation versus a brilliant Blue Jays lineup. Toronto also needs to find a way to keep the Los Angeles offense in check.

Still, it feels like high-scoring games favor the Jays. Pitchers’ duels are going to lean towards the four aces of the Dodgers’ rotation when it might just take one big hit from a Los Angeles star to win the game. 

The World Series experience of Springer, who hit the decisive dinger in Game 7 of the ALCS, is vital for the Jays. Scherzer, too, has a role to play as a leader and likely Game 4 starter. Does the future Hall of Famer have another gem left? 

Then, it’s a case of getting big moments from surprising sources and avoiding mistakes for the Jays. It needs to be a near-perfect series from Toronto to win their first title since 1993. 

The Dodgers, simply because of the immense talent on their roster, have far more margin for error. Ohtani can be quiet at the plate. Mookie Betts doesn’t need to do anything spectacular. Los Angeles has enough to win this series without its MVPs posting big numbers, particularly if the rotation continues in its recent form.

Best Bets

In the Wild Card Era, the winner of Game 1 has won the World Series 25 of 30 times. The dominant Snell taking the ball for the Dodgers in Game 1 doesn’t bode well for the Jays and makes the Game 1/Series double with Los Angeles a decent bet at +100.

FanDuel also has World Series specials that are worth consideration. For example, 2+ home runs to be hit in every game is a decent option at +380 given how much power these teams have. 

What about the dedicated Ohtani section? Well, after his showing in Game 4 against the Brewers, Ohtani to record 8+ strikeouts and 4+ total bases in a game is good value at +430. 

If you expect the Dodgers to be carried by their rotation, Snell at +2000 is a worthwhile bet for MVP. It’s hard to look past Guerrero if the Jays are to upset the odds, but Trey Yesavage is worth a small wager at +10000 given that he’s guaranteed to start two games if this series goes deep.

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