The Los Angeles Dodgers will answer in Game 2 because their foundation remains intact. Elite starting pitching, a layered offense, and an October-tested core still drive outcomes over a seven-game arc. One wild inning does not rewrite a team’s identity. The opener tilted on a nine-run avalanche, not a sustained talent gap. That is why the correction comes now. The matchup turns on the mound, where command and contact suppression travel. It also turns on approach, where patient at-bats squeeze mistakes from good pitchers. The Toronto Blue Jays landed the first punch. The next move belongs to a club built to absorb it and stabilize the pace.
Game 2 falls in step with the Dodgers’ preparation rhythm and travel routine — an often-overlooked advantage in a best-of-seven. They’ve shown poise away from home all postseason, winning four of their last five road games and outscoring opponents 26–11 in those contests. That consistency translates into sharper timing, visible in first-pitch swings and two-strike takes. Expect early steals of ninety feet, hit-and-run pressure, and improved defensive positioning on balls in the gaps. Small tactical wins stack into run prevention and extra outs. The bench offers matchup solutions as well, with late-inning contact bats and premium outfield defense available if needed. With cleaner lanes for leverage arms and a calmer strike zone, the path to a tight win becomes clear.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto shifts the entire run environment. The right-hander owns a 2-1 record with a 1.83 ERA and 18 strikeouts in three appearances this postseason. That profile matters for two reasons. First, he wins pitch one, then expands with a late-biting splitter that kills lift. Second, he keeps innings small. Traffic does not string together when barrels get muted and the zone stays firm. Kevin Gausman brings pedigree and a splitter-first plan of his own, but this lineup has years of looks at his sequencing. That matters in October. Veteran hitters shrink the zone, wait out the chase pitch, and punish height misses. A few long at-bats early can flip leverage by the fourth.
On offense, the plan is steady and targeted. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman set tone through selectivity and contact quality. Will Smith anchors the middle with line drives that move runners. Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy change innings with one mistake. Kike Hernandez, Tommy Edman, and Andy Pages bring speed and gap pressure from the back third. This is not a star-or-bust lineup. It applies stress across nine spots until a pitcher blinks. Game 1 stranded chances. That tends to normalize in short order, especially against a right-hander the roster understands. One clean swing early forces the opponent to play uphill against a starter who erases crooked numbers.
Ohtani keeps tilting games in quiet and loud ways. He leads the club in home runs this postseason with six and shares the team lead with eleven runs driven in. He left Game 1 with a two run shot and his work on the mound still plays with nineteen strikeouts across twelve playoff innings. Power, plate discipline, and mound presence make him the likeliest tone setter in Game 2.
Betts, now 33-years-old, steadies the top of the order as the second hitter. He is hitting .289 this October with 13 hits, four doubles and six runs driven in. He has a hit in three straight and his at-bats stretch starters and expose bullpens. In the regular season he posted a .258 average with 20 home runs, 82 runs batted in and 95 runs scored. When he controls the zone from the two spot early, the lineup follows—and the pace of the game tilts back to Los Angeles.
Structure and experience close the case. Dave Roberts manages best when the first six innings are banked by his starter. Lanes in the bullpen then sharpen and roles hold. The defense is crisp and turns contact into outs. The dugout language after losses is simple and enduring. Flush it, fix it, move on. That is why single-game noise never becomes narrative. The odds of another nine-run frame against this staff sit near zero, while the odds of a disciplined rebound rise with every first-pitch strike and every deep count. The matchup on the mound favors the Dodgers. The familiarity at the plate favors the Dodgers. The poise under bright lights favors the Dodgers. Expect a measured response, cleaner run prevention, and a flight back to California with the series even.
