The Toronto Blue Jays had the World Series in their grip Saturday night until the Los Angeles Dodgers used the long ball at just the right time.
Will Smith hit a go-ahead solo homer off Shane Bieber in the top of the 11th inning and the Dodgers held on for a 5-4 win. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who started Game 6 a night earlier, got Alejandro Kirk to ground into a game-ending double-play with runners on the corners to end it.
The Dodgers came streaming out of the dugout in celebration while the sellout crowd of 44,713 at Rogers Centre was silenced. Yamamoto, who allowed one hit over 2 2/3 innings, was named World Series MVP.
The Blue Jays had a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning but closer Jeff Hoffman gave up a solo shot to Miguel Rojas that tied the game. Toronto loaded the bases in the bottom half but centre-fielder Andy Pages ran down Ernie Clement’s deep drive at the wall to force extra innings.
“It will hurt for a few days, a few weeks, when you’re that close,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer for the Blue Jays in the third inning. Max Muncy hit a solo shot for the Dodgers in the eighth.
Starter Max Scherzer worked into the fifth inning for the Blue Jays while Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani was pulled after giving up the Bichette blast.
The benches emptied in the fourth inning after Justin Wrobleski hit Andres Gimenez with a pitch. Cooler heads prevailed after some jawing in the infield.
The Dodgers scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and again in the sixth. Ernie Clement scored in the bottom of the sixth for Toronto.
The teams split the first two games of the best-of-seven series at Rogers Centre before Toronto took two of three at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles rebounded with a Game 6 win on Friday to set up the winner-take-all showdown.
The Dodgers became the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the New York Yankees, who won three titles in a row from 1998-2000.
The crowd was in full throat from the start. Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Jack Morris, who both own Blue Jays World Series rings, threw the ceremonial first pitches.
The Blue Jays claimed the top seed in the American League after a 94-win season. Toronto beat the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, claiming their first playoff victory and series win in nine years.
Next up was Seattle in the AL Championship Series. George Springer delivered the knockout blow with a go-ahead three-run homer in Game 7 that will go down as an all-time moment for the franchise.
That set up Toronto’s first World Series appearance since 1993 and marked the return of Bichette, who missed seven weeks with a knee sprain.
While it was a tough finish for the Blue Jays, it was still a remarkable bounceback year for Canada’s only big-league team. Toronto won just 74 games last year and finished last in the American League East Division standings.
The Blue Jays started slowly this year, too. A 13-0 loss to Tampa Bay on May 27 capped a three-game sweep and left Toronto in fourth place at 25-27.
The team quickly rebounded with a stretch of nine wins in 10 games and was in first place by early July. The Blue Jays did it with strong defence, timely hitting and decent pitching.
The offence that struggled so often in 2024 would finish the season as league leaders in several categories. Toronto also led the major leagues with 49 comeback victories.
Bichette and Springer returned to form after down years in 2024 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stood tall in the heart of the order.
Younger players such as Addison Barger, Davis Schneider and Clement got opportunities and took advantage. Top prospect Trey Yesavage arrived in September and showed the hype was real in October.
The Blue Jays delivered several wow moments throughout this unexpected playoff run.
There was the Guerrero grand slam against the Yankees. The Springer blast to complete a comeback against the Mariners. And Yesavage striking out 12 Dodgers in a dominant Game 5 performance.
But it’s a Game 7 loss that is top of mind for the Blue Jays, who got about as close as you can get to a title without winning it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2025.
