Oct 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates scoring after a throwing error by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe (not pictured) in the sixth inning during game three of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesOct 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates scoring after a throwing error by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe (not pictured) in the sixth inning during game three of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

After a 6-2 win in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series Friday night, the Seattle Mariners are one win away from clinching the first pennant in the 49-season history of the franchise and becoming the last team to make its World Series debut.

This, of course, means the Toronto Blue Jays are two wins away from finishing a stirring comeback that would give them the club’s first American League crown since 1993.

And the reward for ending decades of heartbreak? Come next Friday, all the Mariners or Blue Jays have to do is figure out a way to topple the seemingly unbeatable Los Angeles Dodgers while serving as the last line of defense for the work stoppage to end all work stoppages. Better enjoy that champagne celebration in Toronto, in whichever locker room it happens!

The Dodgers will be well-rested for the World Series and in the midst of a historic run after they completed their march through the National League bracket by finishing off a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 5-1 win Friday.

Shohei Ohtani threw six-plus scoreless innings and hit three homers in the clincher, and as awesome as that is, the Dodgers were in position to win the pennant after he basically hadn’t done anything this month (at least by his standards). The two-way unicorn entered Friday hitting .158 with two homers and six RBIs while giving up three runs over six innings in his lone start in the NL Division Series way back on Oct. 4.

Yet the Dodgers are 8-1 in the playoffs while trailing for just nine innings in their wins. Los Angeles has been fueled by a throwback rotation that’s combined for a 1.64 ERA with an 83/21 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 66 innings.

Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were particularly dominant in the NLCS, when they set up the Ohtani spectacle by allowing two runs over 22 2/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and just four walks in the first three games.

Among the Dodgers’ four starters, only Yamamoto threw at least 100 regular season innings. Ohtani continued his gradual recovery from a second Tommy John surgery while Glasnow and Snell combined for 29 starts while recovering from arm injuries.

That was 21 more starts than the Dodgers got from rookie Roki Sasaki, who suffered a right shoulder injury in May but has emerged as the club’s closer in the playoffs.

This was the scenario we envisioned that could spell doom for the rest of the Dodgers’ opponents this month and for a sport whose power brokers are salivating at the idea of locking out players and trying to implement a salary cap following the 2026 season.

But don’t blame the Dodgers for building a team with the gifts baseball’s less competitive owners have given them and figuring out the best way to win within the parameters presented.

Mookie Betts was given away by John Henry, who decided he’d rather fritter away the goodwill engendered by briefly turning the Red Sox into a juggernaut by playing with his soccer, hockey and racing toys.

The Braves, who generated more than $600 million in revenue in 2024, decided not to re-sign Hall of Fame-bound first baseman Freddie Freeman after he helped them win the World Series in 2021. Arte Moreno, not content with ensuring Mike Trout never played a meaningful game after his age-23 season, wasted the first six years of Ohtani’s career, nudging a routine-oriented player who certainly didn’t seem to mind his status as the center of the Angels’ universe across town.

But none of these owners are going to look in the mirror and realize their role in building the Dodgers’ machine. And Bud Selig and, especially, Rob Manfred aren’t capable of the self-reflection necessary to see how continually expanding the playoffs has rendered the regular season almost meaningless.

The Dodgers were an easy punchline when they followed up 100-win seasons with first-round exits in 2019, 2022 and 2023. So they played with their food this season, won 93 games mostly on muscle memory and focused entirely on being ready for October.

So far, so good. Best of luck, Mariners or Blue Jays. You’re going to need it next week — and come 2027, so are the rest of us.