Unforgiving Blue Jays leave Dodgers behind in World Series Game 1

It took 32 years for the World Series to return to Toronto. Despite the difficulty of finding tickets and the sky-high resale prices, fans packed the Rogers Centre to witness the opening game of the Fall Classic between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays.

In the Championship Series, the Blue Jays failed to capitalize on their home-field advantage against the Mariners and fell behind early. This time, they made sure history didn’t repeat itself. With an explosive nine-run inning, Toronto crushed the Dodgers 11–4 in Game 1 of the World Series.

With the fans behind them, the game began with a jolt of energy for the home team. Rookie starter Trey Yesavage struck out Shohei Ohtani, who was met with thunderous boos from the crowd. Yesavage retired the first three batters in order, but his night would soon get more complicated.

In the second inning, with one out and Teoscar Hernández on first, Yesavage gave up consecutive hits to Max Muncy and Kiké Hernández, allowing “Chino” to cross the plate and give Los Angeles the lead. The young pitcher then loaded the bases and faced Ohtani again, but the Japanese star grounded out to first, letting Toronto escape the jam.

The Dodgers threatened again in the third. Yesavage issued walks to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and with the count full, Will Smith singled to drive in another run, making it 2–0 for Los Angeles.

Toronto finally responded in the bottom of the fourth. Alejandro Kirk led off with a line drive off the left-field wall, though a lucky bounce for Hernández held him to a single. The Blue Jays have thrived with runners on base this postseason, and Daulton Varsho kept that trend alive, hammering a 109 mph fastball from Blake Snell over the center-field wall. It was Varsho’s third home run of the playoffs, tying the game at 2–2 and bringing the Rogers Centre roaring back to life.

In the sixth, Snell ran into trouble again. He walked Bo Bichette, gave up a single to Kirk, and hit Varsho to load the bases with no outs. Dave Roberts went to his bullpen, bringing in Emmet Sheehan, but the damage was just beginning. Ernie Clement singled to bring home Isiah Kiner-Falefa, putting the Jays ahead 3–2. Nathan Lukes then drew a walk to force in another run, making it 4–2.

Andrés Giménez followed with an RBI single to extend the lead, still with no outs. Roberts made another change, bringing in Anthony Banda. On the Toronto side, Addison Barger pinch-hit for Davis Schneider—and made history. Barger crushed a pitch over the center-field wall for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, sending the Rogers Centre into chaos.

The fireworks didn’t stop there. Alejandro Kirk stepped up again and became the first Mexican-born player ever to homer in a World Series game. The Tijuana native capped the nine-run inning with a 403-foot blast to center, driving in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and pushing the lead to 11–2.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer late, but it wasn’t enough to stop Toronto’s momentum. The Blue Jays cruised to a dominant Game 1 win.

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For Game 2, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound for the Dodgers, while Kevin Gausman gets the start for Toronto.

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