Dodgers Edge Blue Jays in 11 Innings to Clinch Second Straight World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers captured their ninth championship and secured back-to-back titles with a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings on Saturday night, closing out a dramatic Game 7 at Rogers Centre.

The decisive blow came from catcher Will Smith, whose two-run homer off reliever Shane Bieber on a 2-0 slider cleared the bullpen in left field and gave Los Angeles its first lead of the night. The long ball completed a rally that saw the Dodgers erase deficits of 3-0 and 4-2, making them the first club to repeat as World Series winners since the New York Yankees’ three-peat from 1998 to 2000 and the first National League team to do so since the Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching for the second straight night, recorded the final eight outs to earn his third win of the Series. The right-hander entered with the bases loaded in the ninth, worked out of that jam, and survived a tense 11th that began with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slicing a leadoff double down the right-field line. A sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to third, but Yamamoto induced a walk and then a broken-bat grounder to shortstop Mookie Betts, who started a 6-4-3 double play that sealed the championship and ended Major League Baseball’s 150th season—the first to start and finish outside the United States.

Manager Dave Roberts deployed all four postseason starters during an all-hands-on-deck game. Shohei Ohtani opened on three days’ rest after taking the loss in Game 3, followed by Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and finally Yamamoto. The quartet combined to limit Toronto to one run over the final five frames.

Blue Jays Build Early Lead

Toronto struck first against Ohtani in the third inning. Shortstop Bo Bichette launched a three-run homer into the second deck, giving the Blue Jays a 3-0 cushion and electrifying a crowd seeking the franchise’s first title since 1993. Los Angeles responded with sacrifice flies from Teoscar Hernández in the fourth and Tommy Edman in the sixth, cutting the margin to 3-2.

The Blue Jays restored a two-run advantage in the bottom of the sixth when Andrés Giménez lined an RBI double off Glasnow. That insurance run proved vital after Max Muncy belted a solo homer in the eighth off rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage to pull the Dodgers within 4-3.

Ninth-Inning Twist

Los Angeles tied the game in the ninth. Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas, inserted into the starting lineup in Game 6 to jolt a slumping offense, connected on a full-count slider from Jeff Hoffman that landed in the left-field seats. The homer was the first of Rojas’s postseason career and forced extra innings.

Toronto threatened to walk off in the bottom half. After reliever Blake Snell issued two quick outs, the Blue Jays loaded the bases on a hit batter and two singles. Roberts summoned Yamamoto, who hit Alejandro Kirk to reload the bases. With the infield drawn in, Daulton Varsho bounced a grounder to second; Rojas stumbled yet managed to throw home for the force. Ernie Clement followed with a deep drive to center that Andy Pages tracked down while colliding with left fielder Kiké Hernández on the warning track, preserving the tie.

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Dodgers’ Missed Chance in the 10th

Los Angeles filled the bases in the 10th against Seranthony Domínguez but came up empty. Betts walked, Muncy singled for his third hit, and Hernández drew a free pass. Pages then chopped a grounder to short, where Giménez threw home for a force. Guerrero Jr. handled Rojas’s slow roller and flipped to Domínguez covering first, narrowly beating Hernández in a play confirmed by replay.

Historic Context

The contest lasted four hours and 29 minutes, equaling the 1997 Florida Marlins–Cleveland Indians matchup as the second-longest Game 7 in World Series history. According to Major League Baseball records, only the 1924 Washington Senators’ 12-inning victory over the New York Giants was longer.

This year’s Fall Classic produced several notable firsts: the inaugural pinch-hit grand slam in Series play, the first complete game since 2015, an 18-inning Game 3 in which Ohtani reached base nine times, and the first game-ending double play initiated by an outfielder. Visiting teams have now captured each of the last five Game 7s, extending a trend that began in 2014.

The Dodgers’ championship is their third in six seasons and further strengthens the résumé of Roberts, who has managed the club since 2016. With another title, Los Angeles joins an exclusive group of franchises with at least nine World Series crowns, while Toronto, which posted its highest win total since 2015, falls to 2-2 in the Fall Classic.

The victory marks a new chapter in a season that stretched across two countries and 30 ballparks, culminating in a cross-border showdown that underscored baseball’s expanding footprint. For Los Angeles, however, the night will be remembered most for Smith’s decisive swing and Yamamoto’s late-inning resilience.

Crédito da imagem: Associated Press