The Toronto Blue Jays began the World Series with a decisive 11–4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night at Rogers Centre, powered by a string of home runs that electrified a long-awaited home crowd. Betting markets entered the opener with Los Angeles positioned as the slight favorite, listed around –120, while Toronto opened near even odds at +100. Those expectations quickly shifted as the Blue Jays delivered one of the most impressive offensive innings in World Series history.
Toronto’s breakthrough came in a nine-run sixth inning, the third-highest scoring frame ever recorded in a Fall Classic. Addison Barger delivered the defining swing with the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, a 413-foot shot to right-center that broke the game open. Alejandro Kirk followed minutes later with a two-run homer, capping both the inning and an offensive performance that marked a powerful return for the World Series to Toronto for the first time since 1993.
The Dodgers struck first behind starter Blake Snell, who pitched for the first time in more than two weeks and worked with an early 2–0 lead. Los Angeles scored with RBI singles from Kiké Hernández in the second and Will Smith in the third, pushing rookie Toronto starter Trey Yesavage into immediate pressure. Yesavage, making only his fourth postseason start, left the bases loaded in the second and stranded another runner in the third by striking out Max Muncy. At 22 years old, he became the second-youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series opener.
Toronto began its comeback in the fourth, when Daulton Varsho launched a two-run home run off Snell. The homer was his first since returning from an injury-shortened regular season and marked the first time a left-handed hitter had taken Snell deep in more than a year. For Varsho, the moment also carried personal significance. He is named after Darren Daulton, the Phillies catcher involved in the iconic at-bat that concluded Toronto’s last home World Series appearance in 1993. In that series, Joe Carter hit a walk-off homer to defeat Philadelphia.
The sixth inning unraveled quickly for Los Angeles. Bo Bichette, returning from a knee sprain that had sidelined him since early September, drew a full-count walk to open the inning. Ernie Clement singled in the go-ahead run off reliever Emmet Sheehan, followed by Nathan Lukes drawing a bases-loaded walk. Andrés Giménez added another RBI single, setting the stage for Barger’s historic pinch-hit grand slam. Kirk’s two-run homer moments later widened Toronto’s lead to 11–2.
Toronto’s offense thrived not only through power but also through timely execution, producing fourteen hits from a lineup featuring three players whose fathers once played in the majors. Bichette, Varsho, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. became the first trio of second-generation players to start together for the same team in a World Series game. Guerrero added a single and scored early, though his most significant impact was setting the tone for a lineup that attacked relentlessly.
Los Angeles attempted to chip away at the deficit. Shohei Ohtani, playing his first World Series game since joining the Dodgers on a record contract, hit a seventh-inning two-run homer off Braydon Fisher. The home run was his fourth in two games, though it came with the Dodgers trailing by nine. The star two-way player faced persistent boos from Toronto fans still frustrated by his decision to sign with Los Angeles the previous offseason.
Snell struggled throughout the night, allowing eight hits and five runs with three walks in five-plus innings. He acknowledged afterward that his command was not sharp, and the Blue Jays capitalized on multiple elevated pitches. His outing marked a stark contrast to his strong postseason history, which included a notable performance in the 2020 World Series.
Seranthony Domínguez earned the win for Toronto after pitching one and one-third hitless innings. The bullpen held firm after Yesavage departed, preventing the Dodgers from mounting any significant comeback attempts.
With the victory, Toronto seized early momentum in the best-of-seven series and extended a trend that has heavily favored winners of Game 1: twenty-three of the last twenty-seven teams to win the opener have gone on to claim the championship. The teams return to Rogers Centre for Game 2, with Toronto scheduled to send Kevin Gausman to the mound opposite Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Gausman will be making his first World Series appearance, while Yamamoto enters coming off a postseason complete game.
The Blue Jays’ emphatic performance served as both a reminder of the team’s offensive depth and a signal that their return to the World Series stage comes with ambitions as large as their home-run swings.
