TORONTO, Ontario- The Los Angeles Dodgers cemented their place in baseball history after winning a thrilling 11-inning game over the Toronto Blue Jays to secure their second consecutive World Series victory in what was one of the most memorable and entertaining series in recent history.
The Dodgers became the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the New York Yankees won three consecutive World Series from 1998-2000. This was their ninth World Series victory in franchise history, and their third in the last six seasons.
“I’m just speechless, I really am,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. “It’s going to go down as one for the ages.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named World Series MVP for the Dodgers after a masterful pitching performance throughout the series. Yamamoto pitched in three different games, which included a complete game in Game Three, a six-inning start in Game Six and 2 2/3 innings of relief in Game Seven. Yamamoto only allowed two runs during his 17 2/3 innings pitched in the World Series. Yamamoto was the first pitcher to start and win Game Six and then win Game Seven of the series since Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
The Dodgers pitched all four pitchers to whom the team collectively owes $1 billion in contracts over the coming years in Game Seven. Shohei Ohtani started the game, pitching 2 1/3 innings. He was followed by Tyler Glasnow, who pitched another 2 1/3, Blake Snell, who pitched 1 1/3 and Yamamoto, who closed the game out with 2 2/3 innings of work.
For the Blue Jays, 41-year-old Max Scherzer started the game and pitched into the fifth inning. This was Scherzer’s fourth World Series start with his fourth different franchise. He was the oldest pitcher in the modern era to pitch Game Seven of the World Series.
The Dodgers trailed early in Game Seven, after Ohtani allowed a three-run homer to Bo Bichette in the third inning. However, they bounced back quickly, after Will Smith scored on a Teoscar Hernández sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Mookie Betts scored on a Tommy Edman sac fly in the sixth, making it a one run game with the Dodgers trailing 3-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement singled off Glasnow and promptly stole second base to set the table for second baseman Andrés Giménez to extend the Jays’ lead to 4-2 with a double. With the Gimenez double, the Blue Jays’ chance of winning the game rose to 88.8%, according to MLB.com.
The Dodgers went into the top of the ninth inning trailing by a run after Max Muncy hit a solo shot off of the Jays’ phenom pitcher Trey Yesavage. Toronto’s closer, Jeff Hoffman, came in to pitch the top of the ninth, with the Jays only three outs away from clinching their first World Series win since 1993.
Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas, who was batting last in the Dodger order, sent a hanging slider 387-feet and over the left field wall for the game tying homer that set the score to 4-4. Rojas hadn’t hit a homer since Sept. 19 and had only hit two total homers since the All-Star break in early July. Hoffman was given a blown save, his first of the postseason. For the first time on Saturday night, the crowd of 44,713 at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto was barely audible on the Fox broadcast of the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a 377-foot fly out to center field to lead off the inning. Despite the out, the Blue Jays had several opportunities to win, as the next three batters all reached base, which set up bases loaded for center fielder Daulton Varsho. Varsho grounded into a 4-2 fielder’s choice to nab Bichette (who reached via a single) at home. In the next at-bat, Clement lined out to end the inning.
In the top of the 11th inning, with two outs, the Dodgers finally took the lead and didn’t relinquish it for the rest of the night, when Smith hit the go-ahead homer off Shane Bieber 366-feet to left field. The Dodgers closed the game by getting Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk to ground into a 6-6-3 double play. First baseman Freddie Freeman threw his hands into the air upon catching the ball and rushed the mound where his teammates were hugging each other and celebrating their win as the Blue Jays and their fans watched in stunned silence.
“It was supposed to end differently,” Hoffman told Castrovince after the game, “Just one pitch, and, uh, yeah.”
The Blue Jays entered the series as underdogs to the reigning champion Dodgers. The Blue Jays took Game One at home, winning 11-4, and lost Game Two. The Dodgers won the 18-inning Game Three 6-5 in Los Angeles, which put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 in the series. The Jays won the next two games, sending the series back to Toronto with the Jays only one win away from their first championship since 1993, but lost Game Six and Seven.
The Dodgers won the National League West with a record of 93-69, which earned them the third seed in the NL playoffs. Los Angeles swept the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Round, beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in the NL Divisional Round and swept the top overall seed Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series.
The Blue Jays won the American League East with a record of 94-68, which gave them the top AL seed and a first round bye in the playoffs. They won the ALDS over the rival Yankees 3-1 and won the ALCS in a thrilling fashion 4-3 over the Seattle Mariners.
