Both the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers head into Game 6 of the World Series tonight under immense pressure — but for different reasons. After five games, the Blue Jays lead the series 3-2, putting them one win away from their first championship in more than three decades, while the defending champion Dodgers face elimination.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said his team is ready to seize the moment in front of a roaring Rogers Centre crowd.
“Whenever you start spring training, this is where you want to end up,” he said Thursday. “This is the story of the 2025 Blue Jays. Pretty cool.”
The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2 — Kevin Gausman for Toronto against Yoshinobu Yamamoto for L.A. The Dodgers won that earlier duel 5-1, but now the momentum lies firmly with the Jays.
Pressure Mounts in Los Angeles
The Dodgers, who were heavy favorites to repeat as champions, now face back-to-back must-win games on the road.
“We’ve got to find a way to win one game,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “That’s our only focus.”
Toronto has been nearly unbeatable at home this season, a fact not lost on players and fans alike. Baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal noted the Dodgers must overcome “a stadium vibrating with anticipation” for Canada’s first World Series title since 1993.
Superfan Lesley Mak says she’s confident this is the year.
“They’ll win it all,” she said. “Because they’re the better team.”
‘The Job Is Not Done Yet’
Despite the excitement, Blue Jays players are keeping their focus.
“There’s seven games for a reason — you gotta win four,” said Davis Schneider, who opened Game 5 with a home run. “We just gotta win one more.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who followed Schneider’s homer with one of his own, echoed the sentiment:
“The job is not done yet.”
Veteran pitcher Max Scherzer added that the team must guard against complacency.
“Things can change in a heartbeat,” he said. “We’ve got to play our game and go 1-0.”
Longtime broadcaster Jerry Howarth, who called Toronto’s last championship run in the early ’90s, praised the team’s mindset.
“They simply take it one game at a time,” he said. “That’s what’s carried them here.”
Dodgers on the Brink
The Dodgers — World Series winners in 2020 and 2024 — are now fighting to avoid elimination after back-to-back losses.
“Baseball is a hard game, and it’s been hard for us the last two days,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, last year’s World Series MVP.
Freeman pointed to past comebacks as reason for optimism, but even he admitted the challenge ahead is daunting — especially against a surging Blue Jays roster that already defeated the Yankees and Mariners this postseason.
Pundits Shift Their Predictions
Analysts are beginning to concede that the Blue Jays might just be the better team.
“I’m afraid the massively favored Dodgers just lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays,” wrote Skip Bayless on X, while Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke called the Dodgers “decided underdogs.”
Game 6 gets underway Friday at 8 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre, where fans are hoping history — and a championship — are just nine innings away.
