The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in the early hours of Sunday morning, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in a winner-take-all Game 7.
For much of the night, though, things didn’t seem to be in the defending champions’ favor.
Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the third inning when Bo Bichette belted a three-run home run. It seemed like the infielder, who is staring down the barrel of free agency but has repeatedly stated his desire to remain in Ontario, had produced his signature Blue Jays moment.
“That was right up there with George [Springer’s] homer against Seattle. For a guy that has been a staple of this team for the past six or seven years, to have Vlad [Guerrero Jr.] intentionally walked, and then he went dead center on the first pitch, it was so fitting. It felt right at the time,” manager John Schneider said after the game.
“In terms of Bo, what he did this year is nothing short of amazing. What he did to get back is nothing short of amazing. He’s playing on one leg. So in the moment, it felt right. And for guys like him, George, [Daulton Varsho], [Alejandro Kirk] guys that have been here, I feel for them because they deserve to be on the stage right now.”
The Dodgers, however, did not quit in the face of what seemed like a fairy-tale script written against them. They clawed back a run in the top of the fourth and added another in the top of the sixth. Toronto plated an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth—Andres Gimenez doubled home Ernie Clement—stretching the lead to 4-2, but that proved to be insufficient cushion.
Max Muncy homered in the top of the eighth, and Miguel Rojas hit a one-out solo shot in the ninth to tie the game and send the deciding game into extra frames.
“We were going to play 27 outs,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said when asked about team’s mood when Rojas stepped to the plate. “Obviously, it doesn’t look great in that moment, but I trust him to take the at-bat, and he got a pitch that he could handle and hit the biggest hit he’s ever had in his life. Obviously, at that point in time we felt real good about it.”
In the top of the 11th, the decisive moment eventually arrived. With one out, catcher Will Smith hit a home run off Shane Bieber, giving LA their first lead of the night. And, in the bottom half of the inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who started Game 6 on Friday night, closed the door. Kirk grounded into a double play, and celebrations followed.
The second-year pitcher looked largely untouchable this fall, only allowing 23 hits eight runs (six earned) across 37.1 innings this postseason. The Dodgers won Game 7 on the back of a true team effort, but Yamamoto took the individual plaudits as the World Series MVP.
“It’s unheard of, and I think that there’s a mind component, there’s a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there’s just an unwavering will. I just haven’t seen it. I really haven’t,” Roberts said of his pitcher. “You know, all that combined. And there’s certain players that want moments and there’s certain players that want it for the right reasons, but Yoshi is a guy that I just completely implicitly trust and he’s made me a pretty dang good manager.”
The Game 7 victory, which ended Toronto’s first trip to the Fall Classic since 1993, sends the Commissioner’s Trophy back to California for the second time in two years. The Dodgers are the 15th team to win back-to-back MLB titles, and the first since the New York Yankees’ three-peat in 1997, 1998 and 2000.
“We’ve put together something pretty special, I do know that,” Roberts said. “I’m proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable. I guess let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not, but I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.”
In the opposite clubhouse, similar sentiments emerged, albeit with a different emotional edge.
“It’s hard. I had my first team meeting of the year after the game. There’s so many things that to unpack there, not just the series as a whole, seven games, two of them go to extras. I thought we played great baseball, both teams having chances there late. I feel for the guys. This is a special group of guys,” Schneider said.
“That being said, I am so proud of them, of the entire organization, really. That’s kind of where I’m at. We have set a new expectation and a new standard here and did it with a lot of hard work, did it with a lot of cohesiveness, and man, it’s tough to say bye to this group.”
But, while Toronto found success with depth, fundamentals and a roster full of “Glue Jays” stepping up, it was ultimately the Dodgers’ players that produced the decisive moments. Even if they were outplayed for stretches of the World Series, they ultimately lifted the big trophy on stage.
“I just think it just goes down to just trusting your players, and it’s nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number’s going to be called. And that’s kind of what happened,” Roberts said after the celebration.
“Miggy Ro [Rojas]—I talk about the game honors you and right there the game honored him. He does things the right way and he deserved that moment. And what Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern day baseball. Just the young guys coming out there with the arms and just the big plays and—again, it’s been a long season, man. We started out in Tokyo and ended up north of the border, so just proud of this group of guys.”