Miguel Rojas, Shohei Ohtani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers know what’s coming tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays in a World Series rematch. And they’re ready for it.
The Dodgers, behind superstar Shohei Ohtani and World Series hero Miguel Rojas, return to Rogers Centre for the first time since helping Los Angeles rip a World Series title away from the Toronto Blue Jays last fall, and with a loaded rematch on tap, a future Hall of Famer starting for Toronto, and Game 7 wounds still fresh, this feels like the most charged regular-season game in Blue Jays history.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Today: World Series Rematch
“I’m expecting, for the first time in my life, to get booed when I play there,” Rojas told MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and Keegan Matheson. Hard to blame him. Rojas hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 last November — the kind of moment that made him a Dodgers legend and a Toronto villain in the same swing.
The Dodgers went on to win 5-4 in 11 innings at Rogers Centre, clinching back-to-back championships while confetti rained on the Blue Jays’ home floor.
He’s not the only one bracing for it. Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski, who faced Toronto as a reliever in the World Series, put it bluntly to Reuters: “They’re going to boo me, and it’s going to be really awesome. If I were a Toronto fan, I probably wouldn’t like me either.”
Toronto Blue Jays Roll Out Max Scherzer vs. Dodgers
The Blue Jays aren’t treating this like just another early-April series, even if manager John Schneider insists otherwise. “I was joking with the guys that it’s not a three-game rematch of the World Series, it’s just three games you’ve got to cover and try to win,” Schneider told MLB.com.
But Toronto is sending its future Hall of Fame arm to the mound for Game 1. Max Scherzer, 41, takes the ball Monday night carrying a 1-0 record and 1.50 ERA through his first start of 2026.
He was the Blue Jays’ Game 7 starter on November 1, allowing just one run and four hits over 4 1/3 innings before the bullpen couldn’t hold it. In 19 career games against the Dodgers, Scherzer owns a 2.38 ERA across 17 starts.
Kevin Gausman, Tuesday’s starter, captured the mood best. “It feels like we never left, to be honest. It feels like we’re getting ready for Game 8,” Gausman said prior to his Opening Day start, per MLB.com.
The pitching matchups only get bigger from there — Yoshinobu Yamamoto faces Gausman on Tuesday, and Shohei Ohtani goes head-to-head with offseason addition Dylan Cease on Wednesday.
Toronto Blue Jays & Los Angeles Dodgers 2026 Outlook
Both rosters look different from October. The Dodgers added right fielder Kyle Tucker — who was heavily pursued by the Blue Jays in free agency, per MLB.com — and closer Edwin Diaz to shore up last year’s weaknesses. That’s not too shabby, adding to a lineup that features Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers won’t have Mookie Betts, though, who landed on the IL Sunday with a right oblique strain.
Toronto, meanwhile, moved on from Bo Bichette, whose three-run blast off Ohtani in Game 7 was supposed to be the defining swing of the franchise’s season. Kazuma Okamoto has stepped into the lineup, and with Andres Gimenez sliding to shortstop full-time, the Blue Jays’ infield defense is significantly better. The Blue Jays enter the series on a four-game losing streak after getting swept in Chicago by the White Sox, making a statement series against L.A. even more urgent.
Blue Jays’ president Mark Shapiro summed up what the whole city is feeling, telling MLB.com: “I think it will be impossible to not look through a windshield with some mixed emotions when they come here.”
This is April baseball that feels like October. The Blue Jays know it. The Dodgers know it. And Rogers Centre is going to be electric.
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