Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champon, was brilliant for the Dodgers after being traded by the Washington Nationals in 2021. He went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 11 regular-season starts for L.A. and yielded a 2.16 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings in four appearances during the postseason.

The Braves won just 88 regular season games, but remember that they had to play a huge chunk of the season without Ronald Acuna Jr. Acuna, in just 82 games, put up 3.5 wins above replacement while batting .283/.394/.596 with 24 home runs, 17 steals and 44 extra-base hits overall. Not having a full season of that guy will bring any team’s wins down.

2021 – Jorge Soler homers on the first pitch of Game 1 and the Braves cruise to a 6-2 win over the Astros. Adam Duvall adds a two run shot in the third as Atlanta takes a 5-0 lead.

Phillips suffered a season-ending injury early in 2025, but the former Braves pitcher has a chance to celebrate back-to-back World Series titles. If you don’t recall him being a Brave, that’s fine. He pitched in four games back in 2018. Scott Blewett appeared in more games during his brief time with the Braves.

For the better part of two decades, Kershaw and Scherzer were the ultimate alphas, Kershaw quietly doing a very good Sandy Koufax emulation over 18 seasons, Scherzer crafting a Mad Max persona that was backed up by utter dominance in every town he invaded.

The first World Series was held in 1903. In 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers triumphed over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Freddie Freeman was named series MVP. In 2025, the Dodgers made their way back to MLB's biggest stage,