In baseball we often say that no one series early in the season is of greater importance than any other series. A victory in April is worth only one win in the standings – same as it is in June, July or September.
But not every series is a rematch of the previous World Series that went seven games and ended in 11 innings. Every other series isn’t a matchup between two teams that battled over the best free agents available each of the past three off-seasons.
So sure, every series is worth the same on paper during the regular season, but they can be different emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
The series starting tonight in Toronto is the most different of all this season for the Blue Jays. The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming to town.
They are the team that beat the Jays in the World Series last year. In December of 2023, they beat the Jays in the free-agent pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. The Jays finished second. The Dodgers also won out on big-time Japanese free agent starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2023) and Roki Sasaki (2025). The Jays came in second on both pitchers. The icing on the cake was the Dodgers blowing the Jays away with a four-year $240 million deal for free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker this past off-season. The Jays came in second.
I mean, come on! Enough is enough. The Jays have been in pursuit of the best players, yet the Dodgers keep signing them. Then the Dodgers beat the Jays in the World Series, with Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki all turning in stellar performances.
So, this series is not like every other series. Jays manager John Schneider will not make it any bigger when talking to his players, but the players know.
The Dodgers typically get everyone’s A-game because they are the team to beat in baseball. Teams can get a sense of who they are and where they stand against the two-time defending champions. The Jays desperately want to beat the Dodgers, but they will not talk about winning the series as a huge accomplishment, nor will they fret if they lose the series. But they all know what it means to them. It’s big!
Jays already hobbled by injuries
Of course, the Jays are not entering the series with all hands on deck. Some hands are in casts, literally. The Jays are undermanned heading into the series with Cody Ponce, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Jose Berrios, Yimi Garcia, Anthony Santander and Alejandro Kirk all on the injured list. Yikes.
Nobody feels sorry for you in Major League Baseball. There isn’t a team that is saying, “Oh, those poor Blue Jays.” Everyone goes through it. That’s why depth is really important to get through a season.
The Dodgers benefitted from their great depth last year because they were able to always have an above-average starting pitcher available when another was on the injured list. The Jays planned, as they should, to protect a slew of injuries this season. But no team builds enough depth to overcome injuries to four starters at the same time.
I credit the fact that general manager Ross Atkins went out and signed Patrick Corbin, who had remained unsigned since last year. He’s a serviceable lefty that should give the Jays a chance to win games he starts. He isn’t a shutdown starter but he can get through five innings with a chance to win the game. There aren’t a bunch of aces available on the market at this stage of the season, so it is a nice addition.
The loss of Kirk to a broken thumb is huge. Kirk is one of the best game-callers and pitch-framers in baseball. Plus, his approach at the plate is what keeps the Jays’ lineup moving. He rarely strikes out and is an excellent situational hitter. He was the best hitter in baseball last season with two strikes. Those are the kind of at-bats that can take a pound of flesh out of opposing pitchers.
The Jays are limping into the series at 4-5, having lost four straight to teams they’re expected to beat, while the Dodgers are 7-2, winning three straight games. The Blue Jays are going to need their stars to step up to compete in this series.
The pitching matchups
Monday’s matchup features Justin Wrobleski, a young lefty, on the mound for the Dodgers, versus Max Scherzer for the Jays. Scherzer needs to set the tone for the Jays with his flaring nostrils and angry energy on the mound.
Tuesday’s matchup is a doozy: Yamamoto, who delivered an epic World Series performance, against Jays’ ace Kevin Gausman, who has been fantastic so far this season.
Wednesday afternoon is a heavyweight showdown between Ohtani and Jays’ new starter Dylan Cease. Cease knows the Dodgers well as he faced them multiple times while with the Padres the last two seasons. He is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA against L.A. in his career and has struck out 50 Dodgers in 36 innings. This will be a power-pitching matchup.
If the Jays get swept in the series it won’t be the end of the world; it will deepen the hole they need to dig out of early in the season, but with all of the injuries, there is a reasonable explanation for the struggles. If the Jays sweep the series, it will feel good, but the Dodgers aren’t giving the Jays the trophy or rings that came with their World Series win. It could eventually benefit the Jays in a rematch of the Fall Classic, but we are a ways away from that coming to fruition.
Ohtani continues to amaze
We’re seeing the healthiest and best Ohtani that we have seen in a couple of years.
He currently has the longest consecutive on-base steak at 40 games, going back to last year. He also has the second longest scoreless innings streak as a pitcher at 22.2 innings. Padres closer Mason Miller currently has the longest streak at 25.2 innings. Ohtani hopes to surpass him in his start on Wednesday.
Ohtani is nearly a shoe-in for the NL MVP once again as long as he stays healthy. But he also has his sights set on the NL Cy Young Award. Ohtani will most likely need to make at least 27 starts to win it. A pitcher needs to throw at least 162 innings to qualify for an ERA title and most Cy Young winners are starters. There have been relievers who have won the award (the last one was Eric Gagne in 2003), so there is precedent for greatness being rewarded even with fewer innings being accumulated.
Ohtani has only thrown 162 innings or more once in his career (166 IP in 28 starts in 2022). Even if he gets to the qualified status, which isn’t necessary to win the award, I don’t know if the baseball writers will give him the nod if there are pitchers who have more than 200 innings and are also worthy.
Ohtani is motivated to find out the answer to that question. Whether he wins the Cy Young or not, we are on the verge of seeing one of the most remarkable performances in baseball history yet again.
