Blake Snell enters Game 1 of the World Series in the form of his life. The Los Angeles Dodgers ' left-handed pitcher has been near-Koufaxian in the postseason, and it was an easy call for manager Dave Roberts to give him the ball for the first game of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Blake Snell getting the call to start the first game of the World Series for the Dodgers is lifelong dream fulfilled.

Take Game 1 of the NLCS against the Brewers. Snell turned one of the best fastball-hitting lineups in baseball into a group left scratching its heads. Snell, holding on to a 1-0 lead, made a living pitching backward, and dropped in a 0-0 curveball to Sal Frelick for a called first strike.

The last time we saw Snell in the World Series was as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020. In Game 6 of that series, against the Dodgers, he was controversially taken out of a game he was leading 1-0. After Snell’s exit, the Dodgers would rally and win the game to clinch the series.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, with wife Haeley Mar attends the regular season NBA, Basketball Herren, USA game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls on Monday January 20, 2025 at Intuit Dome Arena / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire