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It all comes down to this. The 2025 World Series will be decided in a winner-take-all Game 7. Things could have ended on Friday night, but the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t close the deal. The Los Angeles Dodgers plated three runs in the second inning, and that proved to be enough. Even when the home team managed to chase Yoshinobu Yamamoto after six innings, they couldn’t scratch out any additional runs. In a fitting summary of the night, Toronto had runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. The tying run came to the plate twice, but a pop-out and a double-play, with Kike Hernandez catching an Andrés Giménez line drive and then catching Addison Barger off second base, ended the game with a whimper. With all of that in the rear-view mirror, let’s turn the page and look forward to Game 7. Miguel Rojas, Enrique Hernández, and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 in game six of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on October 31 in Toronto. Starting Pitchers, Possible Lineup Changes On the Toronto side of things, we know that veteran Max Scherzer will get the ball. He might not be the team’s ace, at least by the conventional definition, but he certainly possesses all of the fight and experience you could hope for a player to have with the season on the line. “Very,” manager John Schneider said when asked about his confidence in the starter. “Him, everyone. It’s the two best words in sports, Game 7. No better guy to have on the mound to kind of navigate the emotions, the stuff. Max has been getting ready for Game 7 when he knew he was pitching Game 3. So, all the confidence in the world in him and everyone tomorrow.” After Game 6, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he wasn’t yet sure about Saturday’s pitching situation beyond knowing that everyone bar Yamamoto was available. There’s logic, however, for Shohei Ohtani to open the game even if he can only throw a few innings. If he starts on the mound, the two-way star can remain in the batting lineup as the designated hitter. Should he enter as a reliever, though, he can’t stay in the game after leaving the mount; the Dodgers would lose the DH spot for the rest of the way. “It’s a possibility,” Roberts said of the option to start Ohtani because of that rule. “We are not certain, but it’s a possibility.” But both managers stressed that, given the stakes of the situation, everyone other than the Game 6 starters could be called upon. As for other changes, it’s unlikely that there will be any major shake-ups. The Blue Jays could get some additional right-handed batters into the lineup, but those matchups probably won’t take precedence over getting the best possible talent onto the field. In the opposite dugout, Roberts might not want to change the lineup that gave him the compete-factor he was seeking. “We’ll see,” he said when asked about fielding a similar group for Game 7. “Yeah, I mean, I kind of like what we were doing, yeah.” Game 7’s Key Matchup: John Schneider vs. the Moment While everyone is important in a Game 7 and it would be easy to key in on the likes of Ohtani or Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Schneider has a big job on his hands. Throughout the postseason, bench boss has preached keeping things normal and trusting the group. That has paid off thus far, but it’s tough for a World Series Game 7 to be just another outing. The Dodgers are supposed to be here. They’re the defending champions and have the highest payroll in baseball. The Blue Jays? They missed the postseason last year and, barring a few notable exceptions, haven’t been here before. They also have the weight of a three-decade title drought and an entire nation on their collective shoulders. The players have to perform, but the manager has to ensure that everyone is ready for the moment. “See you tomorrow,” he explained when asked what his message to the team was. “It’s going to be electric here. These guys, it’s business as usual, although it’s coming down to one game. These guys are really good at kind of just turning the page. That will take a while to kind of unpack. That’s a wild ending. I love the way we played. Yamamoto was really good again. Had our chances with guys on base kind of as the game went on. But we’re going to be ready to play tomorrow. Everyone’s going to be ready to play. I expect them to be playing cards around 1:00 p.m. tomorrow and kind of shooting the s*** with everyone. It’s going to be fun here.” But keeping the team on target is only part of the manager’s job. Barring a blowout, he’ll have to make some in-game decisions, whether that’s about pinch-running or going to the bullpen. We’ve seen some debatable moves from Schneider this postseason, like exhausting most of...
