Why Dodgers starters are so hard to hit and where Blue Jays can attack

The Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series opponents — the Los Angeles Dodgers — are imposing in several ways, but the toughest test they present right now is their rotation.

Since the first World Series in 1903, 171 groups of starters have pitched 50-plus innings in a playoff run, but just four have produced a rotation ERA below the 2025 Dodgers’ mark of 1.40. Three of those rotations played between 1911 and 1920, so the 1983 Baltimore Orioles (1.31 ERA) are the only remotely modern team to top what Los Angeles has done so far.

It might not surprise you to hear that those Orioles went 7-2 in the playoffs and won the World Series.

To earn a World Series title of their own, the Blue Jays will have to produce more against Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow than the