After 74 total innings, an all-time World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays came to an end late Saturday night.
The Dodgers became the first repeat champion since the 2000 New York Yankees. It was their third World Series title in the last six years and ninth overall.
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L.A. had to win the final two games in Toronto to squeak away with the championship. In a Game 7 that will rival 2016’s Game 7 as one of the best games this century, the Dodgers outlasted the Blue Jays 5-4 in an 11-inning extravaganza.
Toronto led for most of the game. Bo Bichette hit an emphatic home run off Shohei Ohtani in the first inning to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 jolt. The Dodgers chipped away but didn’t tie it until an unlikely home run by Miguel Rojas with one out in the ninth.
All eyes were pointing to Ohtani, who loomed on deck. But Rojas, who didn’t have a hit since Oct. 1 entering the day, sent one out to left field against Jeff Hoffman to make it 4-4.
Each team blew a bases-loaded, one-out chance. The Dodgers unbelievably brought Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of the bullpen after he just pitched six scoreless innings the night prior. He threw the final 2 2/3 innings with just one hit allowed.
Yamamoto was named World Series MVP.
Starters Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan and Blake Snell also pitched out of the bullpen for L.A.
Will Smith smacked a go-ahead homer in the top of the 11th to give the Dodgers the lead that would hold. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who nearly ended the game with a long fly ball in the ninth, led off the bottom half with a double.
But with runners on the corners and one out, Yamamoto induced a double play from Alejandro Kirk to silence the Toronto crowd.
How it Got There
So, what brought this series to a Game 7?
It started with a Blue Jays win in Game 1. They rode a nine-run sixth inning to rout the Dodgers 11-4.
Snell was solid for five innings but didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced in the sixth — and all three came around to score against a Dodgers bullpen that was shaky all season. Sheehan and Anthony Banda each surrendered three runs while combining to record only three outs.
It had been 2-2 entering the sixth. But an RBI single by former Met Andres Giménez contributed to the rally, and Addison Barger broke it open with the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.
Rookie sensation Trey Yesavage struck out five over four innings of two-run ball in the Toronto win.
But the Dodgers took Game 2 by a score of 5-1 to send it back to Los Angeles evened at a game apiece. Yamamoto stole the show with his second complete game of the postseason. He struck out eight, didn’t issue a walk and allowed just one run.
It was tied 1-1 entering the seventh, but home runs from Max Muncy and Will Smith put the Dodgers ahead.
As the teams settled into Chavez Ravine, they went on to play an all-time World Series classic. The Dodgers had 2018 flashbacks with an 18-inning contest in Game 3. After the seventh inning, neither team scored again until a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th to win it 6-5 for L.A.
There were numerous heroes throughout the marathon, highlighted by four scoreless innings from little-known Dodgers reliever Will Klein. He struck out five and allowed only one hit. Future Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw also recorded a massive out with the bases loaded in the last outing of his career. Ohtani, meanwhile, reached base nine times (four via intentional walk) and hit two home runs.
Up 2-1 in the series after an all-time type of win, the Dodgers couldn’t extend their momentum into the other games in Toronto. They lost 6-2 and 6-1 to go back to Toronto down 3-2 in the series. Shane Bieber outdueled Ohtani in Game 4, and Yesavage far outshined Snell in Game 5. Yesavage struck out a whopping 12 in seven innings of one-run ball to lead Toronto to the series lead.
As the Dodgers faced elimination in L.A., they stayed alive with a 3-1 win. The struggling Mookie Betts, dropped to fourth in the order, came through with a big two-run single to fuel a three-run third inning. The Dodgers once again got a strong outing from Yamamoto, who struck out six over six innings of one-run ball. Starter Tyler Glasnow recorded the final three outs of Game 6.
And then Game 7 happened in Toronto Saturday night. It ended with explosions of joy for Los Angeles and tears of anguish for Toronto.
With that, baseball is officially done for the year. So enters the season of trade rumors, free agent talks and roster predictions. And in February, amidst the last dose of crisp winter weather, we’ll get to do it all over again for the start of spring training.
