The Los Angeles Dodgers fell 6-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series and are just one loss away from elimination. While the Blue Jays benefited from some timely offense, starter Trey Yesavage was able to keep the Los Angeles lineup from generating any real momentum.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tweaked the lineup before Wednesday’s game, but did not commit to making any further changes.
“Roberts said he wasn’t sure what he would do with his lineup for Game 6 against Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, but going forward here’s the scary part: Among the Dodgers’ hitters signed beyond this season, first baseman Freddie Freeman is 36, third baseman Max Muncy 35, Kiké Hernández 34, outfielder Teoscar Hernández and Betts 33. Freeman, in particular, was quite productive during the regular season. But even he is not what he was in his prime,” wrote Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The Dodgers’ lineup has seemingly been dormant for the majority of the postseason. Their starting pitching has largely compensated for their lack of firepower.
“Some of the Dodgers’ offensive problems, perhaps, are attributable to bad luck,” Rosenthal wrote. “Their batting average on balls in play in the past three series is .265, 13 points below the league average in the postseason, while the Blue Jays’ playoff BABIP is .305. But the Dodgers also are striking out at a much higher rate (25 percent) than the Blue Jays (16) over those periods, and hitting fewer home runs.”
Roberts will hope that his Dodgers can put together better at-bats when they face the Blue Jays in Game 6 on Friday.
“We trust each other. We believe we’re the best team in baseball,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “We’ve had our backs against the wall a lot this year, fighting through injuries, fighting through expectations and all that. This is a tough group. I’ve got no problem going in there and winning two games, and we’ll be ready for that.”
