The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5–4 in Game Seven of the World Series, earning a second-straight title and third championship in six years, on Saturday, Nov. 1. Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned World Series MVP honors for his three dominant outings throughout the series, while clutch Game 7 home runs from Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and Will Smith ultimately carried the Dodgers to a ninth franchise ring.
This series was packed with energy and excitement. Opening in Toronto, the Fall Classic began with a home win that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the match-up. The Toronto batting machine put up 11 runs in the first game, but a complete Game 2 by Yamamoto, followed by an insane 18-inning Game 3 (which featured a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run) helped the Dodgers secure a 2–1 game lead in the series.
Following the two-three-two format, games four and five in Los Angeles went in favor of the Canadian baseball club, with pitchers Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage holding Los Angeles to two runs and one run respectively, while their own lineup put up six runs in both games.
With the Blue Jays leading the series 3–2 and returning back to the home field advantage of Rogers Centre, all signs seemed to point in the direction of the Jays’ first World Series win since their back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays and their electric fans, Dodgers’ Yamamoto took the mound on Halloween night, pitching six full innings, limiting Jays’ batters to just one run and striking out six in the process.
With an even series heading into the last game of the 2025 season, Shohei Ohtani, the presumed National League MVP, was made the starter in a do-or-die game. The first two innings of the game remained scoreless, but once Blue Jays shortstop-turned second-baseman Bo Bichette hit a dynamite three-run home run in the bottom of the third, all of Canada was probably off their rocker.
Ohtani was taken out of the game and Dodgers starters continued to shoulder the burden in the bullpen. However, two Dodgers sacrifice fly balls, the first by Teoscar Hernandez in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded, and the other by Tommy Edman in the sixth, brought Los Angeles to a one-run game, 3–2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Glasnow, one of the Dodgers’ four primary starting pitchers, allowed the game to reach a 4-2 score, but a classic Dodgers Max Muncy homer off Jays’ rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage in the top of the eighth inning brought the difference in score back to just one run, 4–3 in favor of the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman then entered the ninth inning with an opportunity to win the World Series. The chaotic nature of baseball had other plans, however, as an out-of-nowhere dinger by Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas tied the ballgame with two outs left. The top of the inning ended and the Blue Jays had the opportunity to walk it off, but three outs sent the game into extras.
Yamamoto took over in the ninth inning after Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell then carried the game through the tenth and eleventh. Yamamoto was playing on zero rest days, as he had pitched six innings just the night before. In the top of the eleventh, Will Smith hit a solo home run that silenced the crowd and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the game, 5–4. This held as the final score.
Baseball superstar and Blue Jays first-baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gave his ballclub a chance with a double in the bottom of the eleventh, but a sacrifice bunt and double-play ended the game and the Dodgers earned their second consecutive ring.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the strength of his players, knowing the improbability his team had fought through to win the game.
“I’m just speechless, I really am,” Roberts said. “It’s going to go down as one for the ages.”
World Series MVP Yamamoto, who was playing Cy Young-level baseball throughout his second season with the Dodgers, solidified the postseason performance of a lifetime after his clutch game seven showing. Yamamoto is the first pitcher since 2001 (when Randy Johnson did it) to earn three wins in a single World Series and the first to win all three on the road.
“When I started in the bullpen before I went in, to be honest, I was not really sure if I could pitch up there to my best ability,” Yamamoto said. “But as I started getting warmed up … I started thinking I can go in and do my job.”
It was a heartbreak for Toronto, and seemingly divine providence for Los Angeles, though the truth behind that is obviously more complicated. The Dodgers entered the regular season with the highest payroll of any team – everyone in baseball is aware of that. But retiring pitcher and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who spent all 18 years of his career with the Dodgers, signalled that’s not what wins championships.
“You can talk about how much money the Dodgers spend all you want, but that group of guys is a lot more than how much money they make,” Kershaw said. “It’s a special group. It really is.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider, though devastated by the loss, was aware of the hope a new season can bring.
“The positive person in me will take some time to digest it,” Schneider said. “But the beauty of baseball is that it goes on. There’ll be spring training in February.”
However, with the end of the 2025 MLB season comes a resurging conversation on the possible implementation of a salary cap, which MLB owners seem to be all for, while MLB players have been adamantly against it. The current terms of the collective bargaining agreement are set to expire in December next year. In the meantime, free agency will play out and baseball fans will have to wait until Opening Day next year on March 25.
The Dodgers played a determined postseason in defeating the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Blue Jays, while the Blue Jays raised the level of expectations in their handling of the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. Can the Dodgers win a third consecutive championship? Who will reign supreme in next year’s American League? Major League Baseball fans are looking for any advice on how to pass the time until then.
