The Toronto Blue Jays did not win the World Series on Saturday night.

While it seemed like the Blue Jays were destined to bring home their third MLB title, several different chances to knock off the Los Angeles Dodgers in an epic Game 7 fell by the wayside in an eventual 11-inning. 5-4 loss.

And one of those chances that will stick with Blue Jays fans for a long time was at a force out at the plate of Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who was inches away from scoring the Series-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

With Daulton Varsho at the plate and the bases loaded with one out in a 4-4 game, Kiner-Falefa held close to third base in fear of getting caught in a double play on a hard line drive.

But he eventually was called out at home plate, unable to score on a ground ball hit hard by Varsho to second baseman Miguel Rojas, playing in his final-ever game.

Many were quick to point out that perhaps if Kiner-Falefa had been a bit more aggressive, the streets of Toronto would still be celebrating.

IKF’s small lead and a lack of a secondary was the difference for Toronto not winning a title. pic.twitter.com/LobrbNSCJa

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 2, 2025

Kiner-Falefa explained his strategy postgame, as per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

“[The coaches] told us to stay close to the base. They don’t want us to get doubled off in that situation with a hard line drive. Varsho hits the ball really, really hard. [Muncy’s] right there,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I can’t get doubled off right there so it’s almost like a bases loaded. They wanted a smaller lead and a smaller secondary, so that’s what I did.

Nicholson-Smith also paraphrased that Kiner-Falefa had said he’d received threats to “break his legs” and had “people blaming him for the loss.”

“It was obviously a tough play. They got it done. The lead is small. In that situation, you can’t get doubled off. I got the best secondary I could from that spot and it didn’t work out,” Kiner-Falefa added.

But the opinion that Kiner-Falefa misplayed the situation wasn’t held by everyone watching.

“He did exactly right here. The #1 rule with bases loaded and less than 2 outs is you cannot get doubled up on a line drive to 3rd baseman. So your lead is as far as the 3rd baseman is from the bag. He did this perfect,” former Blue Jays All-Star Whit Merrifield wrote on X.

In any case, it’s one of many plays that will live in Toronto sports infamy forever, or at least until the city’s next heartbreak.

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