LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Dodgers will try to keep their hopes alive for their first back-to-back World Series championships Friday in Toronto, with history against them.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory in Game 5 Wednesday at Dodger Stadium gave them a three games to two Series lead. Of the 46 teams winning Game 5 of a Series that had been tied at two games a piece in the best-of-seven format, 31 went on to win the Series, 67.4%.
One omen in the Dodgers favor — the road team has won three of the five games of the Series. The Dodgers won one of two games at Rodgers Centre while the Blue Jays won two of three at Dodger Stadium.
Friday’s game will be the Dodgers’ first time facing postseason elimination since Game 5 of a National League Division Series on Oct. 11, 2024, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto and four relievers combined on a two-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The pitching matchup for Game 6 Friday will be a rematch of Game 2 with Yamamoto pitching against fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman.
Yamamoto pitched a four-hitter Saturday in Game 2 the World Series’ first complete game since 2015 as the Dodgers won 5-1.
Gausman limited the Dodgers to one run on two hits the first six innings of Game 2, then allowed solo homers to Will Smith and Max Muncy in the seventh to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
“Kev’s outing kind of got overlooked because Yamamoto was so good in Game 2,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Kev kind of matched him pitch for pitch there until the seventh.
“We’ve got all the confidence in the world in Kev. He’s kind of been our guy for the last couple years. So he’s pitched in big games before, postseason, regular season, he’s always consistent, love handing him the ball (Friday.)”
The Dodgers were 10-for-61 — for a .164 batting average — and 0-for- 6 with runners in scoring position in their last two games, both losses.
“They just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said at a news conference Thursday at Rogers Centre. “It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. That sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for and expect good things to happen from that.”
Roberts said he “might change” the Dodgers’ lineup “a little bit.”
“I’m contemplating, but I’m still kind of up in the air, so it could be a little bit of a change,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he gave the players the option not to participate in Thursday’s workout “because of the long series and 18 innings and travel and all that stuff, and not one guy took the option.”
“That was pretty exciting for me and just speaks to where these guys are at, that they realize that the job’s not done, and we’re going to keep going and keep fighting,” Roberts said.
ESPN Analytics’ Matchup Predictor gives the Dodgers a 52.9% chance of winning, the Blue Jays a 47.1% chance.
The first pitch is set for 5:08 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox, broadcast in English by KLAC-AM (570) and in Spanish by KTNQ-AM (1020).
Game 7, if necessary, would be Saturday in Toronto.
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