1 of 5 | Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (C) celebrates with catcher Will Smith (L) after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series on Sunday in Toronto. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
Will Smith singed a slider into the left field bullpen to cap a dramatic Game 7, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings for their second consecutive World Series title Sunday in Toronto.
“What a game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on the Fox broadcast after the 5-4 triumph. “Baseball is the greatest game ever invented We gave everybody a show.”
Smith’s 11th-inning blast crushed the home crowd, which watched the Blue Jays lose a three-run lead, including a 4-3 edge in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who led Los Angeles to a Game 6 victory Friday in Toronto, allowed one hit and no runs over the final 2 2/3 innings of Game 7 en route to World Series MVP honors.
“It’s a special group of guys,” said Smith, who set a record for the most innings (73) caught in World Series history. “We just never gave up, kept fighting, pitching our [expletive] off, hitting, great at-bats.
“That was a fight for seven games. That’s a really good Toronto Blue Jays team. There is nothing better than this.”
With their victory, the Dodgers became the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back MLB crowns. They also denied the Blue Jays of their first World Series title since 1993.
“I think that game had every single thing you could possibly have,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “An incredible series. A grind for both teams. Back-to-back is so hard to do.”
Second baseman Bo Bichette infected fans with euphoria with a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, which helped the Blue Jays hold a lead for the majority of Game 7.
But manager Dave Roberts called on the Dodgers’ best pitching arms, including Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yamamoto, to quell their foes while leaning on veteran hitters for an offensive revival.
“I was not sure if I could pitch until I went to the bullpen, but I’m glad i was able to,” said Yamamoto, who was credited with three victories in the seven-game series.
Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer allowed an Ohtani single in his first exchange of the night, but quickly settled. He retired the next nine consecutive batters. Scherzer exited in the fifth inning after allowing four hits and one run.
The Dodgers cut the deficit to one with runs in the fourth and sixth innings, but shortstop Andres Gimenez gave the Blue Jays a 4-2 edge with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.
Veteran third baseman Max Muncy smacked a 373-foot solo homer in the eighth to get that run back. Second baseman Miguel Rojas then tied the score with a 387-foot strike off relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman in the top of the ninth.
“I wasn’t even trying to hit a home run,” Rojas said. “I think that was my first home run all year against a right-handed pitcher.”
Snell allowed a Bichette single and walked right fielder Addison Barger in the bottom of the inning. Yamamoto, who replaced Snell after that, hit catcher Alejandro Kirk two pitches later to load the bases.
Rojas threw out Isiah Kiner-Falefa at home plate off a grounder from outfielder Daulton Varsho in the next at-bat. Center fielder Andy Pages made a leaping snap of a fly ball from Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement for the final out of the inning, forcing extra innings.
The Dodgers loaded the bases against Seranthony Dominguez in the top of the 10th, but the Blue Jays relief pitcher escaped the half inning unscathed.
Yamamoto breezed through the Blue Jays lineup in the bottom of the inning. Toronto pitcher Shane Bieber retired Rojas and Ohtani to start the the 11th, bringing Smith to the plate with two outs.
The veteran catcher watched two pitches miss the strike zone before ripping a middle-of-the-plate slider 366 feet to left field for what proved to be the game-winning run.
Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled off Yamamoto to lead off the bottom of the inning. He moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt from Kiner-Falefa. Yamamoto walked Barger in the next exchange, but forced Kirk to ground into a double play in the final sequence of the night, securing the Dodgers’ title.
Muncy went 3 for 4 . Ohtani, Smith and Rojas collected two hits apiece. Ohtani allowed five hits and three runs over 2 1/3 innings on the mound. The Dodgers’ bullpen, which included Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan, in addition to Glasnow, Snell, Yamamoto, allowed nine hits and one run over the final 8 2/3 innings.
Clement and designated hitter George Springer recorded three hits apiece for the Blue Jays. Bichette, Barger and Kirk logged two hits apiece. Clement hit .411 this postseason, when he totaled an MLB-playoff-record 30 hits.
