Following northern stars

Dodgers take on Blue Jays, who seal their first pennant since 1993

- BY JACK HARRIS

PHOTOS BY ASSOCIATED PRESS AND GETTY IMAGES; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TIM HUBBARD Los Angeles Times

FROM TOP RIGHT: the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tommy Edman, and the Blue Jays' George Springer, Trey Yesavage and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The last time the Dodgers visited Toronto, the Blue Jays organization was at rock bottom.

The club was barreling toward a last-place finish in the American League East in 2024. Its fan base was disgruntled with a sorely disappointing offseason. And the Rogers Centre crowd was booing Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who spurned the Blue Jays after they were a finalist in his free agency process to sign in Los Angeles instead.

What a difference a couple years can make.

When the Dodgers return to Toronto this week, it will be for Game 1 of the World Series, beginning on Friday night.

After going from worst-to-first in the AL East this season, then staving off elimination in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Sunday, the Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in a Game 7 classic on Monday night, giving the club its first AL pennant in 32 years.

The matchup with the Dodgers will offer star power on both sides, with the AL's No. 1 seed this postseason squaring off against a defending champion trying to cement a dynasty.

For the Blue Jays, this will be their first World Series trip since winning back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993. For the Dodgers, one last test in their quest to repeat.

Ahead of Game 1 on Friday night, here are nine things to know about the Blue Jays:

Swatting the soft stuff

The Blue Jays had one of the best offenses in the majors this year, ranking fourth in scoring, first in batting average and third in OPS.

The way they did it: By being the best lineup in baseball against off-speed and breaking pitches.