The Los Angeles Dodgers began this World Series as the clear favorites to repeat as champions. This was no slight against the Toronto Blue Jays; the Dodgers were the more talented team on paper and had cruised their way to the Fall Classic after winning it all last season. If Game 1 taught us anything, though, it's that if the Dodgers do win the World Series, it won't be easy.
The Blue Jays rallied back from an early 2-0 deficit to win Game 1 by the score of 11-4. They scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, four of which came on one massive Addison Barger swing. Winning Game 1 at home would've been one thing, but the Jays won this game handily. In doing so, they sent a message that they truly belong on this stage.
They also caused many Dodgers fans to begin panicking. Whether that's justified or not can be debated.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot,our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
It's too early for Dodgers fans to fully panic
Was Game 1 frustrating? Absolutely. Was losing this game the end of the world? Absolutely not.
If this were a best-of-three or even a best-of-five, perhaps panicking after a Game 1 loss would be justified. But for the Dodgers to win the World Series, they'll now have to beat the Blue Jays four times in six tries. That doesn't sound incredibly daunting, because it really isn't. This Dodgers team was 9-1 in the postseason before Friday's game. The Blue Jays are better than the other teams the Dodgers have played, and it's important to note that, but this Dodgers team can win four games in six tries against anybody.
The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani set to take the ball in the next three games before returning to Blake Snell for Game 5. It's hard to bet against those guys, even against a team as good as the Blue Jays.
With that being said, this loss was so disappointing on a couple of fronts, to the point where panicking Dodgers fans might actually be justified.
Why panicking Dodgers fans might be justified
The Dodgers sent Snell, a pitcher who had allowed just two runs on six hits in 21 innings across his three postseason starts, to the mound against rookie Trey Yesavage, a rookie making just his seventh big-league start when combining the regular season and postseason. Yesavage has impressed all month long, but it felt as if the Dodgers entered with a massive pitching advantage. That showed itself early, as Los Angeles got out to a 2-0 lead, but the Dodgers failed to tack on key insurance runs and Snell faltered in the middle innings.
Not only did the Dodgers lose a favorable pitching matchup, but this game showed just how bad their bullpen is. Everyone knew that the bullpen was the big weakness for this team, but the Dodgers barely had to use their relievers in previous rounds because of how dominant their starters had been.
Well, Snell wasn't awful, but he failed to record an out in the sixth inning. Rather than keep the game close, the bullpen immediately allowed nine runs to score. Three of those runs were ones Snell left on base, but the bullpen allowed all of them to score, plus six others, all in one inning. That was the ballgame right there.
The Dodgers can win when their starter dominates, but when their starter is unable to even complete six innings, how is this bullpen going to protect leads? Only two starting pitchers have managed to complete six innings against the Blue Jays all postseason. Not a single starter has completed seven innings against Toronto. Chances are, the Dodgers will need at least nine outs in every game from their bullpen. Can they get them without disaster?
The Dodgers failed to take advantage of a matchup that was seemingly in their favor, and now have Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman looming as the Game 2 starter. To make matters worse, their biggest Achilles heel, their bullpen, was on full display.
Final Dodgers panic meter after Game 1 defeat
It's important to keep everything in perspective. It is only one game out of a maximum of seven, so it's important to note that there's still a lot of time left for the Dodgers to win this series. In fact, if they're able to win Game 2, they'll reclaim home-field advantage and would have a chance to close the series out in Los Angeles without even having to return to Toronto.
However, the bullpen implosion cannot be ignored. Dodgers fans can trust Roki Sasaki to get some outs in relief, but who else in that bullpen should Dave Roberts expect anything from, particularly with Alex Vesia unlikely to pitch? Again, the Dodgers might need seven innings consistently from their starters to win games, and that just doesn't feel realistic.
I don't think Dodgers fans should be in a mindless panic knowing that we've only played one game and how much talent is on their roster, but it'd be naive to discount how good the Blue Jays are and how bad the Dodgers' bullpen is.