Initial ALCS, NLCS impressions: Are Mariners and Dodgers World Series-bound?

We are 2 games into some 2025 league title series, and it's clip for our archetypal impressions based connected what we person seen connected the field.

The Seattle Mariners are headed location with a 2-0 ALCS pb aft downing the Toronto Blue Jays connected consecutive days to commencement the series.

In the NLCS, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers person jumped retired to a 2-0 roadworthy vantage of their ain against the Milwaukee Brewers.

What has stood retired astir truthful acold -- and what's adjacent for the World Series hopefuls? Our MLB experts measurement in.

ALCS: Mariners vs. Blue Jays

What has amazed you astir truthful far?

Jorge Castillo: The presumption was Seattle's pitching staff, drained aft an exhausting ALDS that concluded with a 15-inning Game 5 connected Friday, would request astatine slightest Sunday's ALCS opening crippled to reset. But Mariners pitchers did not relent. Game 1 starter Bryce Miller acceptable the tone, rebounding from a rocky archetypal inning to springiness the Mariners six important innings. The bullpen starred successful Game 2 erstwhile Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas and Emerson Hancock each tossed 2 scoreless innings. Tuesday's disconnected time should lone assistance the Mariners arsenic the bid shifts backmost to their cavernous location ballpark.

Jeff Passan: The deficiency of competitory at-bats from the Blue Jays. Yes, the Mariners' pitching is precise good. But the Blue Jays -- whose high-quality, work-the-count, spoil-pitches attack each play helped present them an AL East title -- were practically tweaking to plaything astatine Miller's pitches successful Game 1 and weren't overmuch amended successful Game 2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitless. As are Daulton Varsho, Andres Gimenez and Davis Schneider.

Four runs successful 2 games is not going to bash it against a lineup arsenic heavy arsenic the Mariners' and with a pitching unit arsenic susceptible arsenic the Blue Jays' has proved this postseason.

How tin the Mariners adjacent this retired astatine home?

Castillo: Hitting location runs astatine T-Mobile Park isn't casual -- the Mariners deed 134 connected the roadworthy and 108 astatine location -- but agelong balls are often the quality successful October. Such was the lawsuit successful Game 2 erstwhile the Mariners scored 8 of their 10 runs connected 3 homers -- 2 three-run location runs and a two-run shot.

The Blue Jays surrendered 209 location runs during the regular play -- the sixth-most allowed successful the majors and the astir allowed by a postseason team. If the Mariners proceed hitting mistakes implicit the fence, the Blue Jays' chances of winning 4 of the adjacent 5 games are slim to none.

Passan: Do not dainty this arsenic a coronation. Too overmuch has happened successful Mariners' past to ever uncertainty that thing tin spell precise wrong. They person existed 49 years and ne'er truthful overmuch arsenic made a World Series.

The existent answer: chopped down connected the punchouts. The Mariners are striking retired much than 30% of the clip implicit the archetypal 2 games, and it diminishes opportunities compared to Toronto, which is astatine 13%. Like Jorge said, arsenic agelong arsenic Seattle is hitting location runs, this mightiness beryllium moot. In the...