Following their Game 7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night, the Dodgers advanced to the World Series to play the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Dodgers

The Dodgers were far and above the best team in baseball this year. Their 43-17 record was tops in the majors, led by MVP candidate Mookie Betts.

They steamrolled the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round, sweeping the best-of-three series.

Next, they took on the San Diego Padres. The scores were tighter, but the Dodgers still swept them, too.

Following that series, they got paired with the Atlanta Braves for the NLCS. Both teams were 5-0 coming into the series, and both showed they deserved to be there.

The Braves’ young pitching shined in the first two games as they won the first two games. The Dodgers responded in Game 3 though, as the offense exploded for 11 runs in the first inning to cruise to an easy victory.

They took their foot off the pedal though, and the Braves won Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.

The Dodgers did not give up, though, and won the next two games to force Game 7.

The Braves took an early lead in Game 7, but the Dodgers fought back and tied the game late. In the bottom of the seventh, 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger hit a towering home run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. They held onto that lead and won the series.

Corey Seager was named NLCS MVP with five home runs, eleven RBI, and a 1.23 OPS.

While the Dodgers spent a little over $225 million to make it this far, the team they are playing took a different route.

The Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have very similar talent but have spent about $75 million, a third of what the Dodgers spend.

The Rays have had a hard-fought road, but they are in the World Series.

They went 40-20 in the regular season and had the top seed in the AL.

They swept the Blue Jays in the first round and matched up with their rival, the New York Yankees, in the second round.

It was a long five-game series, and the hero was an unlikely one. Undrafted infielder Mike Brosseau hit a home run in the bottom of the 8th of Game 5 off flamethrowing Aroldis Chapman to give them the lead and the eventual win.

The last stop before the World Series was against the Houston Astros.

They stayed white-hot by winning the first three of the best-of-seven series but slowed up. They lost the next three to force a winner-take-all game against Houston. Their pitching shined in Game 7, and the emergence of rookie stud Randy Arozarena helped them take down the Astros.

Arozarena was named NLCS MVP. He is the first rookie batter to receive this award, hitting .321 with four home runs and a 1.152 OPS.

The Series

These two teams will duke it out on a neutral site in Arlington, Texas, for the best-of-seven World Series. The first game is Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 8:09 p.m. The Dodgers are heavy favorites but it should be a very exciting series.