Judging the MLB playoffs: The team to beat, who has the vibes to stop them and this October's top ace

What an unthinkable archetypal 2 weeks of the 2025 MLB playoffs we've had. There was the instant classical 15-inning Game 5 of the American League Division Series betwixt the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, sending Seattle to its archetypal American League Championship Series since 2001. We saw the Philadelphia Phillies beryllium eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers connected a bases-loaded mistake successful the 11th inning. We watched the Toronto Blue Jays stomp past the New York Yankees with a barrage of scoring.

Now, we're successful the aboriginal stages of the league title bid and down to the last 4 teams: 1 squad that is trying to marque past with back-to-back titles, 2 teams trying to triumph their first rubric and 1 squad trying to bring backmost its glory days of the aboriginal 1990s.

The Mariners amazed everyone by going into Toronto and winning the archetypal 2 games. The Dodgers held connected to a slim pb to instrumentality Game 1 successful Milwaukee. Let's instrumentality banal of October truthful acold with an variation of Real oregon Not, looking astatine storylines connected the teams inactive live and those that person been eliminated.

Teams that are inactive successful it

The Dodgers are the squad to bushed ... again

Verdict: Real

Look. They're the defending champs. They person a rotation of All-Stars. They person Shohei Ohtani. They look to person recovered a person successful Roki Sasaki. They are the favourite to triumph it all. Just perceive to a fewer statements Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy made Sunday:

"The Dodgers are a powerhouse, what tin you say?"

"I hap to deliberation that Mookie Betts is 1 of the astir underrated stars -- I accidental 'underrated,' that's benignant of crazy, right? But I don't deliberation Mookie Betts gets the credit."

"Freddie Freeman is similar my favourite person, subordinate successful the game. He's ruined Brewers past galore times, but I inactive emotion him."

"My impressions arsenic a pitcher is that [Ohtani is] unbelievable. The crippled I saw him transportation the different time was, like, uh, a split-finger from the apical of the portion each the mode to the bottom. Amazing."

"The different kid is beauteous good, the lefty. What's his name? Shell? [Blake] Snell. I'm joking, of course. I've been precise disappointed erstwhile he's pitched and I'm successful the stadium. He's truly good."

"And [Tyler] Glasnow is truly good. And [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto is truly good. The feline astatine the extremity -- who is the feline astatine the extremity throwing 100 with a split? That shouldn't beryllium fair. We're going to effort to petition the league and spot if we tin get him suspended for something."

So, yes, the Dodgers are the favorite. But nary squad has repeated since the Yankees successful 2000. It won't beryllium easy.

The Blue Jays' quality to enactment the shot successful play makes them the biggest menace to L.A.'s throne

Verdict: Not Real

The Blue Jays did person the lowest strikeout complaint successful the majors this play astatine 17.3% and are coming disconnected ...