World Series: Blue Jays Trounce Dodgers in Game 1

Appearing in their first World Series game since 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays erupted for nine runs in the sixth inning in the 2025 Fall Classic opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Blue Jays' offensive outburst included the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history on Friday, October 24. With one out in the sixth, Addison Barger smacked reliever Anthony Banda's 2-1 slider over the fence in right-center, giving the hosts a 9-2 lead.

On Friday night, Toronto defeated LA 11-4 at Rogers Centre, 32 years and a day after the Blue Jays repeated as MLB champions on a Joe Carter walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Shohei Ohtani, hero of the Dodgers' National League Championship Series-clinching win over the Milwaukee Brewers on October 17, slugged a two-run homer off reliever Braydon Fisher in the seventh inning, reducing the Blue Jays' lead from nine runs to seven. It was Ohtani's sixth homer of the 2025 MLB postseason.

In Game 1, the reigning NL MVP went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Ohtani hit a groundout to first. Moments earlier, Kike Hernandez hit an RBI single to center to give LA a 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers extended their advantage to 2-0 on a Will Smith single in the third.

In the fourth, the Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho smacked a two-run homer to center to make it 2-2.

World Series Woes: Dodgers Pitchers Struggle in the 6th Inning

The home half of the sixth inning began with a 2-2 tie. 

Dodgers southpaw starter Blake Snell then walked the first Blue Jays hitter, Bo Bichette. And Alejandro Kirk followed with a single. At this point, Snell had made 100 pitches. He threw no more.

"That was a tough game, and then they came out swinging it and had a better game," Snell said, according to MLB.com. It's four games. You gotta win four."

Manager Dave Roberts replaced Snell, who was 3-0 entering this game in the 2025 MLB postseason, with reliever Emmet Sheehan.

Sheehan only faced four batters, with three of them reaching base (two hits and a walk), and Toronto jumped ahead 5-2. 

Roberts then brought in veteran lefty Banda to replace Sheehan.

Four pitches later, Barger, a 25-year-old left-handed batter who made his MLB debut in 2024, hammered the historic grand slam.

"Obviously, they brought in the lefty for me, and I was just trying to put the ball in play, get a run home, hopefully," Barger said at a postgame news conference. "That was kind of my only goal and it ended up working out better than that."

Kirk added a two-run shot off Banda over the center-field wall to make it 11-2.

After a disappointing outing on Friday, Banda said he'll look ahead instead of dwelling on what went wrong for him and his teammates.

"You've got to just flush it," Banda said, according to The Associated Press. "Get ready for tomorrow."

Game 2 Starters

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Saturday's Game 2 for the Dodgers. The Japanese right-hander made his World Series debut in Game 2 of the 2024 Fall Classic, pitching 6⅓ innings of one-hit, one-run ball in LA's 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees.

For the Blue Jays, Kevin Gausman (10-11, 3.59 ERA in the regular season) will be the starting pitcher. Gausman owns a 112-113 career record in the regular season.

At a news conference before Game 1, Yamamoto was asked if he's nervous about his Game 2 assignment.

"I just take every game, whether it's a regular season game or a playoff or World Series game, I just take it as similar as possible," Yamamoto told reporters. "Right now I think I'm in a pretty good position mentally."

Asked about the reigning World Series champs' team chemistry entering the best-of-seven series against the Blue Jays, Yamamoto shared his opinion.

"As a team, I think because we're preparing pretty well with the composure and good energy, good vibe, as a team," Yamamoto said. "Because this is a goal [to repeat as the champion], it's what we've been striving to get to since spring training."

Did You Know?

Toronto's Trey Yesavage was the second-youngest starting pitcher in World Series history. The 22-year-old pitched four innings on Friday, allowing four hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out five.

In 1947, 21-year-old Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the youngest World Series starter in history.

RELATED:

• Shohei Ohtani Leads Dodgers to NLCS Sweep with Amazing Game 4 Performance
• Dodgers Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto Tosses a 3-Hitter in NLCS Game 2
• Roki Sasaki is Handling the Pressure of Being a Closer
• MLB NOTES | Dodgers Seeking to Repeat as World Series Champs 

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.