Blue Jays Advance to World Series vs Dodgers

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners in a dramatic ALCS Game 7 — capped by George Springer’s go‑ahead home run — to win the American League pennant and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1993, with Game 1 scheduled Friday at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. They will face the defending‑champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a star‑studded, big‑spending club led by two‑way star Shohei Ohtani and backed by a deep starting rotation that includes Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The matchup contrasts Toronto’s balanced, contact‑oriented lineup and steady defense, anchored by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and a possibly returning Bo Bichette, with Los Angeles’s power, pitching depth and postseason experience. MLB insiders and scouts generally favor the Dodgers because of their starting‑pitching depth, but Toronto’s postseason resilience and comeback pedigree keep the series competitive. Starting pitching matchups and the availability of X‑factors — Guerrero Jr., Springer and Bichette for Toronto; Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and late‑inning arms for Los Angeles — are expected to decide the outcome.