Checking the pitchers for the Dodgers and Blue Jays in Game Seven

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays face off in the ultimate winner-take-all matchup, Game Seven of the World Series. It’s all hands on deck for both pitching staffs, with nine innings separating them from a championship.

Two future Hall of Famers will take the mound tonight as starting pitchers. In fact, they will face each other directly in the first plate of the game. Shohei Ohtani will start as the designated hitter, then take the mound in the bottom of the first inning. His opponent will be 41-year-old Max Scherzer.

Ohtani is widely expected to win his fourth MVP Award this year and was named the National League Championship Series MVP. Scherzer’s trophy case is almost as full, as he owns three Cy Young Awards.

There has never been a player like Ohtani in baseball history, but he will step out of his comfort zone by pitching tonight. He typically needs at least five or six days of rest between games, and has only rested less than five days once in his career. He will rest just three days in Game Seven after throwing six innings and 93 pitches in Game Four on October 28.

It’s unreasonable to expect Ohtani to play more than a few innings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will likely let him pitch as long as he can lock down the Toronto lineup, but he will undoubtedly have a short hook. That will put the Dodgers at a disadvantage as this is essentially a bullpen game. Ohtani has to start because he can’t come in as a reliever without sacrificing the designated hitter spot.

After Ohtani, things will be difficult for the Dodgers. Roki Sasaki has emerged as a multi-inning closer in the postseason. He’ll probably throw tonight, even though he threw 33 pitches yesterday. Tyler Glasnow is another starting pitcher who looked like he would throw multiple innings in Game Seven until he had to throw three pitches in Game Six.

Blake Snell hasn’t made a relief appearance since the 2019 postseason, but he could be available on two days’ rest. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw only six innings and 96 pitches yesterday, making him the least available pitcher for the Dodgers, although nothing is impossible in the last game of the year.

All conventional relievers are available, and the only one who pitched in game six is ​​Justin Wrobleski. However, Dodgers fans who have been watching their bullpen all year won’t find much comfort in the idea of ​​relying on bullpen play.

The Blue Jays are more geared for pitching success, even if Scherzer isn’t what he used to be after posting a 5.19 ERA in the regular season. Kevin Gausman was the starter yesterday, so it’s unlikely they’ll use him tonight. Four Toronto relievers also worked in Game Six – Chris Bassitt, Seranthony Domínguez, Mason Fluharty and Louis Varland – but that won’t stop any of them from working in Game Seven.

To summarize the pitching staff, the Dodgers have a better starter on the mound, but he’s unlikely to last into the night, and they have a weaker bullpen. If they don’t have a big lead after the early innings, the odds will shift in favor of the Blue Jays to win Game Seven and the World Series.