The Brief

Where things stand:

• Game 1: Blue Jays win 11-4
• Game 2: Dodgers win 5-1
• Game 3: Dodgers win 6-5 in extra innings with a Freddie Freeman homer in the 18th
• Game 4: Blue Jays win 6-2
• Game 5: Blue Jays win 6-1
• Game 6: Dodgers win 3-1

Game 6 is tonight (Oct. 31) in Toronto where the Blue Jays could seal their first championship in more than 30 years.

The basics

The Dodgers are back in the World Series, looking to repeat as Major League Baseball champions.

If they win, they’ll be the first team to win consecutive titles since the New York Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000.

Standing in the way of L.A.'s quest for immortality: the Toronto Blue Jays.

But you knew all that, right?

Right?

It's OK if you didn't. Baseball is a long season, and if you're going to pay just a little bit of attention to it, now's the time.

So let's get you caught up and ready to join the water cooler conversations about how the Dodgers got here and what lies ahead.

Bandwagon fans, climb aboard.

When and where are the games?

The Blue Jays have home-field advantage for the World Series because they had a better winning percentage than the Dodgers during the regular season. So the series will start in Toronto, and if it has to go a full seven games, four of them will be played there.

All games will be broadcast on Fox and Fox Deportes. You can also stream the games on the Fox Sports app or FoxSports.com, but keep in mind that to do this, you’ll need to have a subscription for a cable or streaming TV provider.

If you’re dying to watch the games at home but don’t have access to cable or streaming TV, you might consider signing up for a free trial. Many TV streamers like YouTube TV and Fubo TV offer free trials for new customers. Fox also has its own streaming service called Fox One, which offers a seven-day free trial that includes access to World Series coverage. If you do go this route, you’ll have to remember to cancel your subscription before the trial ends so you don’t get charged if you don’t want to keep it.

Here’s the schedule of the games. All times are for the West Coast, and remember, it's the best of seven, so the series could be as short as four games if one team sweeps.

• Game 1: Friday, 5 p.m. at Rogers Center (Blue Jays win 11-4)
• Game 2: Saturday, 5 p.m. at Rogers Center (Dodgers win 5-1)
• Game 3: Monday, 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium (Dodgers win 6-5)
• Game 4: Tuesday, 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium (Blue Jays win 6-2.
• Game 5: Wednesday, 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
• Game 6: Oct. 31, 5 p.m. at Rogers Center
• Game 7*: Nov. 1, 5 p.m. at Rogers Center

* Keep in mind: The World Series is best of seven, so it could have been as short as four games if one team swept.

How the Dodgers got here

The Dodgers began their postseason journey with a best-of-three wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds, whom they swept with relative ease in two games. They then dispatched the high-powered Philadelphia Phillies in the Divisional Series, needing just four games to do it.

Next came the Milwaukee Brewers. Despite having the best record of any team in baseball during the regular season, the Brewers were no match for October’s Dodgers. L.A. swept Milwaukee in four games, clinching the National League pennant and a trip to the World Series.

In the series-clinching Game 4, Shohei Ohtani as starting pitcher allowed no runs over six innings and struck out 10 Brewers batters; Ohtani as offensive superstar hit three home runs, including this one that left Dodger Stadium.

It may go into the record books as the single greatest individual performance ever in baseball.

The opponent

The Toronto Blue Jays are returning to the World Series for the first time in 32 years. They won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.

The 1993 World Series remains one of the most memorable of all time thanks to a walk-off home run from slugger Joe Carter to win the series for Toronto.

Win bar trivia: Carter is one of only two players ever to hit a walk-off homer to win a World Series. The other? Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski, who did it first in 1960.

As the top seed in the American League, the Blue Jays got to skip the wild-card round and advance right to the Divisional Series, where they took care of the New York Yankees in four games. They then toppled the Seattle Mariners in the A.L. Championship Series, needing all seven games to do it.

They’re not a team full of household names, and they may be emerging from a three-decade World Series drought, but this Blue Jays team is young, talented and hungry to bring a championship back to Toronto.

Key storylines

Cementing a dynasty: The Dodgers have been to the World Series five times since 2017, winning titles in 2020 and 2024, so they’re already considered by most baseball fans to be an established dynasty. Becoming the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back championships would cement that status and further validate the team’s decisions to trade for Mookie Betts in 2020, sign Freddie Freeman in 2022 and give Shohei Ohtani a $700 million deal last year.

The coronation of Ohtani: It’s no secret the Dodgers’ two-way star is the best baseball player on the planet. We’ve known that since he entered the American pro ranks with the Angels. But since coming to the Dodgers — and particularly this season when he’s finally gotten healthy enough to pitch and hit simultaneously — we’ve really gotten to see what he’s capable of. He’s already considered a future Hall of Famer, and this World Series will be a chance for him to showcase why he just might be the best baseball player the game has ever seen. His reception in Toronto, where the team courted him aggressively, has been cold. "We don't need you," they booed in the Game 1 rout. (Although it should be noted, Ohtani did hit a 2-run homer in the game)

Lockout fears: Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement between players and owners is set to expire after the 2026 season. Whether the Dodgers win the World Series this year could end up at the center of longstanding disagreement between owners and players over whether baseball should have a salary cap that limits how much teams can spend on players. Unlike pro football, basketball and hockey, it currently does not. Owners and some fans worry this allows teams like the Dodgers to buy championships and puts smaller-market teams who can’t spend as much at a disadvantage. Players, unsurprisingly, don’t want a salary cap because it would limit how much they could get paid.

It’s a long, complicated story, one I recommend you read more about from respected ESPN baseball writer Jeff Passan.

Not that the Dodgers seem too concerned with those who think what they’re doing is ruining baseball.

Too much rest? When the World Series kicks off, it’ll have been a week since the Dodgers last played a game. And while rest is good for athletes, too much can backfire. The Dodgers have been practicing all week, but we’ll have to see if the time off created a few cobwebs.

The finale of Kendrick vs. Drake? OK, this isn’t an actual storyline so much as it is a mostly dead story reanimated by the internet, but it’s out there so let’s address it. You might recall the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which culminated in Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance this year that was widely seen as the final word in the beef.

Lamar is from Compton. Drake is from Toronto.

Why does this matter? Last year, one of the highlights of the World Series was when South L.A. rapper Ice Cube electrified the Dodger Stadium crowd with a performance of his hit “It Was A Good Day” before Game 2.

The Yankees responded when the series shifted to New York in Game 3 by bringing out Bronx rapper Fat Joe. He performed his hit “All The Way Up,” and it was … well, you be the judge.

Now, we have no evidence or information to suggest this would happen, so maybe it’s wishful thinking, but come on … how cool would it be to see Drake and Kendrick rap battle it out on national TV as their hometown teams compete for a World Series?

Dodgers players to watch

Shohei Ohtani, starting pitcher/designated hitter

I’m not sure what to write that accurately encapsulates just how good Shohei Ohtani is at baseball.

If there were any doubts about his talent as a two-way player, Ohtani silenced them with his historic Game 4 performance.

Last year, Ohtani was recovering from elbow surgery and wasn’t able to pitch. The Dodgers won it all anyway. This year, we’ll get to see his full suite of hitting and pitching talents in the World Series. If you pay attention to nothing else, make sure you’re watching when No. 17 is at the plate or on the mound.                                             

Freddie Freeman, first base

One, two, Freddie’s coming for you ….

This is what we imagine former Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortés hearing in his nightmares after the Dodgers star took him deep for a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of last year’s World Series.

Freeman went on to hit home runs in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the series too. His performance, all while nursing an ankle injury, earned him World Series MVP honors. This year, Freeman is fully healthy and remains a centerpiece of the Dodgers offense. And the road games will be a bit of a homecoming — his parents are both from the Canadian province of Ontario.

Dodgers starting pitchers

Last year’s team relied on a steady bullpen to carry it to a World Series win. This year, it’s been all about the starters. Out of the 10 games it took the Dodgers to reach the World Series, nine of them featured a starter who pitched six innings or more. The Dodgers won all nine of those games.

They included dominant performances in the NLCS — including Blake Snell’s eight scoreless innings in Game 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game in Game 2, Tyler Glasnow’s solid six in Game 3 and Shohei Ohtani’s Game 4 magnum opus.

It’s rare to see a starting staff with this many pitchers at the top of their game all at once, and the Dodgers will be relying on their recent dominance to continue if they want to win it all again.

Roki Sasaki, closing pitcher

Like his now-teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto last year, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was the most highly sought-after player this offseason. And once again, the Dodgers managed to win the sweepstakes.

Sasaki made a couple of starts for the Dodgers early in the season before a shoulder injury sidelined him in May. After a long recovery, Sasaki rejoined the team in September as a relief pitcher and has been the Dodgers’ de-facto closer for the playoffs.

He’s been effective so far, allowing just three hits and one run over eight innings coming into the World Series. But the Dodgers bullpen may be this team’s biggest question mark, so Sasaki and his fellow relievers will have to lock in.

Blue Jays players to watch

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., first base

He’s the heart and soul of the Blue Jays and arguably their best hitter. He also happens to be the son of a Hall of Fame Angel.

Even the fairest of fair-weather fans might remember Vladimir Guerrero Sr.'s time with the Angels from 2004-2009. He could do it all — run, throw, play defense and hit just about anything you threw at him. Even if it bounced first …

Vlad Jr. was born in Montreal when his dad was playing with the Montreal Expos (they don’t exist anymore — they moved to Washington, D.C., after the 2004 season and became the Washington Nationals), and he was regularly at games and in the clubhouse with his dad.

Now, this little kid is all grown up and mashing home runs as he looks to lead his birth country’s baseball team to the promised land.

George Springer, right field

If his name sounds familiar … well, that’s because he was a member of that infamous 2017 Houston Astros team that beat the Dodgers in the World Series and ultimately was found to be illegally using video cameras to steal signs.

Springer tortured Dodgers pitchers in that series, hitting five home runs on his way to winning World Series MVP.

Now with the Blue Jays, Springer once again proved himself a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs. His three-run home run in Game 7 of the ALCS propelled Toronto into the World Series.

Springer now brings his World Series experience to this young, talented Blue Jays team. The Dodgers undoubtedly know what he’s capable of at the plate and will have to pitch to him carefully if they want to avoid a repeat of his 2017 performance.

Bo Bichette, shortstop

Like Guerrero, Bichette also is the son of a former major leaguer. His dad, Dante, was drafted by the then-California Angels and played for them from 1988 to 1990 before he was traded. He spent his best years with the Colorado Rockies, earning four All-Star selections.

Bo Bichette led the Blue Jays in batting average and RBIs during the regular season, but he’s been out since early September with a knee injury and has missed all of the playoffs so far. But when asked after the Jays’ ALCS win if he’d be playing in the World Series, he didn’t hesitate with his answer.

And that’s bad news for the Dodgers and the baseballs they’ll be throwing to him because when he’s healthy he can do things like this:

Trey Yesavage, starting pitcher

At just 22 years old, this hurler is the youngest player on the Blue Jays. After starting this year at the lowest level of minor league baseball, Yesavage earned a call-up to the majors in September and has continued to impress, winning two of his three playoff starts.

Part of what makes him so hard to hit? His incredibly high release point, which can make the ball even harder for hitters to track coming out of his hand.

Celly season

Especially in the playoffs, there’s never a shortage of celebrations when a player hits one out of the park. And in the last few years, a lot of baseball teams have come up with their own team-specific celebrations, or “cellys.”

For the Dodgers, you might see a few things, depending on what they’re celebrating. Here’s infielder Miguel Rojas breaking a few down.

Another one you might see after a Dodgers home run is this swipe across the eyes, inspired by an ad that Shohei Ohtani did with a Japanese beauty and skincare company.

And then, of course, there’s the sunflower seed shower that outfielder (and former Toronto Blue Jay) Teoscar Hernández brought with him from Toronto. You’ll see him tossing a handful at his teammates when they homer. Of course, when Teo is the one who homers, they return the favor. Sometimes forcefully.

For the Blue Jays, their main celebration piece is the Blue Jacket.

The Blue Jays home run jacket first appeared in the team's dugout in 2021 with the names of all the countries the players were from, but it's since expanded to include the home countries of their many fans.

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Ishika Samant

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Getty Images

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The tradition started in 2021 as teams around the league were coming up with ways to celebrate the long ball. According to Hector “Tito” Lebron, the Blue Jays’ Spanish language interpreter for players, the idea spun off of golf’s green jacket, which is awarded to the winner of the Masters Tournament.

Lebron said as time went on, fans in Toronto would reach out and ask if the team would add their country to the jacket. They did, and this year’s version (by our count) includes nearly 50 countries.

The Jays retired the jacket in 2022 after the Seattle Mariners swept them out of the playoffs, but the team revived it in 2024 as a way to try and spark the team after a tough start to that season.

You’ll see Blue Jays players don the jacket when they return to the dugout after hitting a home run.

It’s an objectively cool jacket with a fun backstory. But Dodgers fans will be hoping they don’t see a lot of it during the World Series.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.