Pitching was once the Dodgers' liability. Now it's a World Series strength.

The health of the Dodgers' four top pitchers, and a surprise role change late in the season, have led Los Angeles to face the Toronto Blue Jays for the World Series title.

Last winter, coming off a World Series title, the Los Angeles Dodgers spent the offseason bulletproofing their roster at every position — using their financial might to sign a two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, Blake Snell, and the franchise’s attractiveness to land Roki Sasaki, one of Japan’s most promising young pitchers.

But by late summer, injuries had whittled down a pitching staff once seen as perhaps baseball’s deepest. From Mookie Betts to Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani, their biggest hitters had taken turns slumping. And when they did produce runs, their bullpen often couldn’t protect a lead. After taking a nine-game lead in their division on July 3, the Dodgers, with their league-high $416 million payroll, promptly lost seven straight games.

As late as Aug. 24, the Dodgers’ record was only fourth best in the National League. Along with the New York Yankees and Mets, Los Angeles formed a triumvirate of high-priced rosters that had underwhelmed as the season's final month began.

Fast-forward to Friday. The Dodgers not only made Game 1 of the World Series, but they have also done so amid one of the most dominant postseason runs in MLB history — entering their matchup against American League champion Toronto with a 9-1 postseason record, including five straight wins in which Los Angeles has allowed five total runs.

Only the 1999 Yankees and the 2005 Chicago White Sox have suffered just one loss en route to winning a World Series in the past 30 years, since MLB created the wild card. And only two other teams, the 1998 Yankees and the 2022 Houston Astros, have won a title with two playoff losses.