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Game 7 2025

Everything lined up for the Toronto Blue Jays to take home their first title in 32 years. A number of things happened that combined o help the Los Angeles Dodgers do what seemed to be impossible, at least in the early going of the series finale.

George Springer is a bad man. Two hits in his first two at bats, with a bum knee and a pulled something in his side. Bo Bichette is right there with him in the training room, but you could argue Bichette cost them the series because he can’t run. He had to stop at third on a ball hit to the outfield that should have scored him. 

Bottom 2 was stressful for Ohtani starting for the second time in three days, but the pitches to Barger and Clement were not strikes. It sounded like Barger broke his bat on 100 down and in and Clement had to go out of the strike zone to hit it to right. Gimenez has been a stud with runners in scoring position. (500) but not today. 

Bottom 3: if you’re Bo Bichette, why worry about  station to station when you can just hit one out of the park? Robert’s decision to put Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on via the intentional walk means one more guy on base to score after Bichette hits one 443 feet. 3-0 Blue Jays

Top of the fourth: great pitch from Blue Jay starter Max Scherzer after a 77 mph curve ball. An 86 mph slider was not the fastball Betts was looking for. 

Incredible take by Muncy to load the bases. I would have pulled Scherzer then. 

Teoscar Hernandez scorched one. Amazing catch by Daulton Varsho. Smith scores to make it 3-1. Edman is hitting lefty. I’m definitely pulling Scherzer now.  But, no. Manager John Schneider keeps him in and Scherzer gives up another scorcher. Somehow, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is able to lay out for it. Two incredible defensive plays in a row to save the bacon of a pitcher who should have been out of the game. Threat over. It looks like Toronto can do no wrong, kind of like when the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in spite of manager Joe Maddon.

The interview during the game has to stop. Do it during the break and then play it back. John Schneider had to make a crucial decision while also trying to conduct an interview.

A bit of weirdness: Andres Gimenez tried to get hit with ball two from Dodger reliever Justin Wrobleski and then actually got hit. Then he tries to pick a fight? Funny to see the bullpens running on the field. Broadcast John Smoltz nails it when he says, “This is one of the most overrated things in sports.”

Is Louis Varland the Blur Jays’ most valuable player? He appeared in every game and got Smith and Freeman to fly out to end the 5th.

Or is it Addison Barger with six multi-hit games for the series? It’s the fifth inning and the Dodgers are unable to score.

Until…Has there ever been a more important sacrifice fly than Tommy Edman’s in the sixth to pull the Dodgers within one?

With Tre Yesavage warming up, it was paramount for Dodger Miguel Rojas to get a hit with two on and two out against Chris Bassitt. Yesavage’s split-fingered fastball is a bit of magic where Dodger hitters are concerned. Against Bassitt, they stand a chance. A wave and a miss at a nasty curve ball made it 1-2. A foul in between two balls. 3-2. Rojas pounds it into the ground. Tagged out. Blue Jays and Bassitt out of a jam. All looks lost.

Tyler Glasnow does his job into the sixth. The pitch to Ernie Clement was a mistake and should have been a warning sign. Glasnow then tried to keep the ball up to Andres Gimenez as the former tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Gimenez did a great job laying off those pitches. Clement took advantage of Glasnow’s inability to hold the runner and stole second. It’s little things that lose games. That gave the Blue Jays an insurance run after Gimenez laced one in to the right field gap. I have to ask. Does Shohei Ohtani catch that ball if he’s the right fielder? I think he does. 

Yesavage comes in and doesn’t look sharp. I don’t know what the Ohtani jumping out of the way thing is but it needs to stop. Regardless, he walks.  The Dodgers look like they’re trying to be patient. Smith gets two good pitches to hit. Flies out to center. Yesavage gets the 3-6-3 double play from Freeman. Only six outs left.

Bottom of Seven: Emmet Sheehan comes on. Goes up the ladder to get Bichette. 

Dodgers: 10 base runners through seven inning. Only two runs. 

Top of eight: One out. Hanger from Yesavage: Muncy bounces it off of the facing of the upper deck. 4-3 Blue Jays.

John Schneider pulls Yesavage. Sure he hung one to Muncy but just like Game 5, when Dodger manager Dave Roberts pulled Ohtani, this didn’t seem like the time. Once again, it works. No further damage.

Bottom of the eighth: Blue Jay Ernie Clement is Mark Lemke incarnate. 30 hits and ten multi-hit games in the postseason. Dodger Emmet Sheehan makes a terrible pitch at the top of the zone after Clement had just yacked one foul that was up around his eyes. 

Blake Snell comes on to face Andres Gimenez after Sheehan gives up the double to Clement. Muncy crashed for the bunt from Gimenez, who nearly takes his head off. Springer is then finally retired. Davis Schneider comes in to face Snell. Half a dozen balls have been called strikes on the night so far for home plate umpire, Jordan Baker. Snell uses the help and gets Schneider to chase and strike out.

Jeff Hoffman’s slider was working. Kike couldn’t hit it. Neither could Rojas…until Hoffman didn’t get it down enough or outside enough. He gave up 15 home runs during the year. Rojas went down and got it: 4-4. 

Worst to first talk? That would have to wait. 

Dodger catcher Will Smith up. Works a 3-2 count. Home Plate Umpire Baker gets us to talk about him by calling a fastball that was not close…strike three. Smith can’t believe it.

Bottom of the ninth. It still seems like Toronto can’t help but win. It feels like destiny. The crowd is insanely loud. Guerrero, Bichette, and Addison Barger are up. Surely, one of them will win it?

3-0 change up from Snell. Guerrero flies out to center. 

Bad call again on a pitch outside to Bichette   Next pitch is a base hit to left in front of Kiké Hernandez who’s playing almost to the fence 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is called on to be a pinch runner for Bichette. Barger fouls one off his foot. Jordan Baker calls a pitch a ball that was the same distance from the strike zone as the one that he called Will Smith out. 

With one out in the ninth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto comes in to face Alejandro Kirk. 1.56 ERA 4-1 postseason. He just pitched last night. He Hits Kirk in the right elbow. 

Andy Pages comes in for Edman in case there’s a shallow single. 

Strike at the knees at 97. 1-2

Smash to Rojas. He stumbles and throws home. Smith lifts his foot and gets it down just before Kiner Falefa’s foot hits the plate. There’s no way that just happened. Still, Toronto has the advantage.

Clement now is up and hitting .400 for the series. He is already the all-time leader in postseason hits. He goes down and golfs a moon shot to left center. Dodger outfielders race back. Kiké has a bead on it until Pages wipes out Hernandez, catches the ball, and crashes into the fence. Hernandez falls to the ground and stays there.

10th. Seranthony Dominguez is in. Broadcaster Joe David asks if he “…started warming up three hours ago?”

Baker now starts helping the Dodgers. Betts walks on two pitches that should’ve been called strikes. Muncy goes up the middle for another hit. Dave Roberts asked before the game if it was possible for Muncy to continue to struggle as he had. Apparently the answer is no.

Teoscar misses a hanger. 1-1. Chases a little farther out. 1-2. Middle low. 2-2. High hanger inside is an another mistake fouled off. Ball that Smith comfortable called out on. 3-2.  Walks. Bases loaded.

Pages is 4-for-50 in the postseason. Redemption?

Dominguez throws another hanger. Pages out in front. Another hanger. 1-1. Strike on the bottom of the zone bottom of the knees. The infield is drawn in. Pages gets jammed and hits it weakly to Gimenez. 6-2 putout. 

Kiké is now up. Way outside 1-0. Slider missed 1-1. Hernandez makes contact. It’s a chopper  to first. Guerrero tosses to Dominguez.  Kike is out by not a small amount. Dodgers appeal for some unknown reason. 

Yamamoto gets a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 10th for the first time I. What seems like three weeks.

Top 11. Rojas and Ohtani ground out. Bieber looks great…until he hangs one to Smith. As it soars and then lands in the bullpen, Clayton Kershaw’s yelling “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!”

5-4 Los Angeles.

The ninth was set up for Guerrero to be the hero. 

Now in the 11th, he has to be the savior. He delivers. His ability to pull his hands in at hit a ball down the line with power is outstanding. He does it again with a rope down the line for a double. 

Kiner-Falefa is now up and drops a great bunt. He’s out at first but Guerrero goes to third. 

Barger’s up. One out. 

First pitch on the border should be a strike. Called ball one. Baker is obviously an equal-opportunity offender. The second one is more outside. The third and fourth aren’t close as Yamamoto pitches around the guy who has delivered one of the greatest postseasons ever.

Alejandro Kirk then comes up. He had five home runs in the postseason. The first pitch he fouls off to the left. 0-1

Curve ball makes it 0-2 as it buckles Kirk’s knees 

The next pitch is the last of the game. This is where heroes are made and vanquished opponents watch the celebration on the other side of the dugout. Who’s it going to be. Kirk goes up the middle. Betts takes it on a hop, runs to the bag, and throws to Freeman. 

One of the greatest World Series ever ends. It is shockingly quick.

5-4. 

That’s how it happened. It doesn’t seem real.