In the 2025 World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays have the nation of Canada behind them; the Los Angeles Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani. Seems evenly matched. Last year’s World Series could not have been more expected—Yankees vs. Dodgers, New York and Los Angeles — there could hardly be anything less thrilling. At the beginning of the season, the Dodgers and Blue Jays struggled to get off to strong starts, prompting fans to wonder if they would even make it to the postseason.
Yet today, these teams have managed to make it to the World Series. Before the season started, the Dodgers were considered the best team in baseball, but it did not take long for them to lose their title. After mediocrity from May to September, they bounced back. Ohtani, a two-way player, is the favorite to win his third straight MVP award. He played a historic game in Game 4 of the NLCS, with ten strikeouts and three home runs, one of which went completely out of the stadium; first baseman Freddie Freeman is top-ten in baseball in wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) and is on track to reach the Hall of Fame when he retires. Will Smith is the best-hitting catcher in the National League, and Mookie Betts—the right fielder converted to shortstop—led the major leagues in defensive runs saved and ranked eighth in Outs Above Average, earning a Gold Glove nomination.
Toward the end of September, the Blue Jays were not sure they would even make it to the playoffs. They were tied with the Yankees for the AL East and pulled ahead in Game 7 of the series. After defeating the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named ALCS MVP, and George Springer won the team’s internal MVP award, voted on by players. Five Blue Jays were also named finalists for the 2025 Gold Glove Awards: Guerrero Jr., Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Alejandro Kirk and Ty France. As the Blue Jays celebrated their achievements and competed in the postseason, all eyes soon turned toward the ultimate stage of baseball: Game 1 of the World Series, where they aimed to showcase their hard work and determination.
Game 1 was a statement win for the Blue Jays in their first World Series in 32 years, crushing the Dodgers 11–4. The Dodgers struck first with RBI hits from Enrique ‘Kike’ Hernández and Smith, taking a 2–0 lead off Toronto’s 22-year-old rookie starter Trey Yesavage, the second-youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series opener. The Jays quickly responded when Daulton Varsho launched a two-run homer off Dodgers ace Blake Snell in the fourth. The turning point came in the sixth inning, when Toronto erupted for nine runs—a franchise and World Series record—highlighted by Addison Barger’s historic pinch-hit grand slam, the first ever in World Series history, followed by a two-run shot from Kirk. The Dodgers managed a late two-run homer from Ohtani, but it was too little, too late. Yesavage impressed with four steady innings, and Toronto’s bullpen held strong while Los Angeles’ relief corps collapsed. The explosive win not only gave Toronto a 1–0 series lead but also signaled that the underdog Jays were serious contenders against the defending champions.
Game 2 saw the Dodgers respond in style, bouncing back from Snell’s bad game. They defeated the Blue Jays 5-1, evening the series. The Dodgers’ dominant effort was anchored by starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw a four-hit complete game, struck out eight, walked none and retired the final 20 batters he faced—marking the first World Series complete game since 2015. The game was tight until the seventh inning, when Smith launched a go-ahead solo homer, and two batters later, Max Muncy added another solo shot, giving Los Angeles a cushion. For Toronto, starter Kevin Gausman was sharp for much of the night, retiring 17 straight batters at one point, but the seventh-inning swing shifted momentum. The Blue Jays’ offense, after their big outburst in Game 1, seemed stifled, and with the series then heading to Los Angeles, the Dodgers had regained home-field momentum.
In Game 3, the Dodgers edged out the Blue Jays 6–5 in an 18-inning, 6-hour and 39-minute marathon to take a 2–1 lead in the series. The Dodgers struck first with solo home runs from Teoscar Hernández and Ohtani, but Toronto pulled ahead in the fourth inning behind Kirk’s three-run blast and a sacrifice fly from Giménez to make it 4–2. Los Angeles clawed back, tying the game in the fifth before Ohtani crushed his second homer of the night in the seventh to even things at 5–5.
What followed was a tense, scoreless stretch that lasted over ten innings, as both bullpens traded zeroes late into the night and morning. Finally, in the bottom of the 18th inning, Freeman launched a walk-off homer, like in the World Series last year, off reliever Brendon Little, sealing the Dodgers’ dramatic win. This game tied the record for the longest World Series game ever played. Ohtani’s performance was historic: he reached base nine times, including hitting two homers and two doubles and getting intentionally walked four times. Freeman’s walk-off was his second in World Series history, making him the first player ever to accomplish that feat. The Dodgers’ endurance and clutch hitting gave them control of the series. Toronto was left to regroup after letting another lead slip away in one of the most grueling World Series games ever played.
In Game 4, the Blue Jays bounced back with a triumphant 6–2 win over the Dodgers, tying the series at two games each. After suffering an exhausting 18-inning loss in Game 3, Toronto responded in style: in the third inning, the slugger Guerrero crushed a two-run homer off Ohtani to give the Jays the lead. Starter Shane Bieber delivered a solid outing for Toronto, and their bullpen kept the Dodgers at bay through the middle innings. The Jays broke things open with a four-run seventh inning, exploiting a tiring Ohtani and a fatigued Dodgers bullpen to pull away decisively.
In Game 5, the Blue Jays pulled ahead, leading the series 3–2 with a 6–1 win. The Blue Jays hit back-to-back home runs to start the game, setting the tone for their pivotal win. On the first pitch of the game, a Snell fastball, Davis Schneider hit a home run just over left field. Then came Guerrero — the heartbeat of this Toronto lineup, sending Snell’s third pitch into the Dodgers’ bullpen, marking the first consecutive home runs to start a World Series game. Yesavage halted LA’s bats with a sinking splitter, spinning slider and overpowering fastball, breaking the former World Series rookie record of 11 strikeouts by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe in 1949 against the New York Yankees.
Getting six strikeouts each with his splitter and slider, Yesavage became the first World Series pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks over seven innings. Interestingly, Tommy Edman, a Dodgers switch-hitter, made the rare and risky decision to bat right-handed against the right-handed Yesavage. Edman struck out, popped out, and grounded into a double play. When the Dodgers finally scored a run from Hernández, an October hero, in the bottom of the third, his teammates—even one with a Hall of Fame career – were in awe. This loss left the Dodgers in a bad place: one more loss and they would lose their title as world champions.
Game 6 saw the Dodgers make every error possible in the first inning, making it seem as if the Blue Jays would come out victorious. The Blue Jays started strong, with six consecutive outs in the first two innings, five of which were strikeouts by starting pitcher Kevin Gausman. The Dodgers broke the game open in the 3rd inning: A double from Edman, an intentional walk to Ohtani, followed by an RBI double from Smith, then a two-run single from Betts. Down 3-0, Barger doubled to lead off the inning for Toronto, and two outs later, Springer singled and drove Barger in. In the 9th inning, when there were runners on first and third base, the Dodgers turned a left-field to second-base (7-4), game-ending double play executed by Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas.
Game 7 made the Los Angeles Dodgers the first team in 25 years to repeat as World Series champions. In the third and fourth innings, the game looked like the outcome would be the opposite of that of Game 6. The Blue Jays established an early lead with a three-run home run from Bo Bichette in the third inning, and while the Dodgers had a run scored by Smith, it didn’t look like the Dodgers could pull it back. The Blue Jays entered the 9th inning with a 4-3 lead, but it didn’t take too long for Rojas to come up and hit a game-tying solo home run off the Blue Jays’ closer, Jeff Hoffman, making it 4-4. In the bottom of the 9th, the Blue Jays loaded the bases and appeared poised to win, but Andy Pages in left-center prevented the go-ahead run from scoring with a running catch on a deep Clement fly ball.
Before Pages’ catch, Rojas made a strong throw home on a grounder, preventing a run with bases loaded and one out. After getting to the 11th inning, Smith hit the go-ahead shot that put the Dodgers up 5-4, giving them the lead for the first time in the game. In the bottom of the 11th, Guerrero doubled to lead off and moved to third with one out, putting the tying run just 90 feet away. The game ended in a shortstop-to-second-to-first double play (6-4-3), finishing a historic season for baseball.
The Dodgers have reclaimed their title, once again standing proud as the champions of the World Series. Their hard work and teamwork led them to victory, showing their strength and determination throughout the season. This win highlights their commitment and solidifies their place as one of the greatest teams in baseball history, a true dynasty.
