Jays delivered in every way in an ear-splitting night to remember.

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“Madness.”

That was the single, power-packed word Addison Barger, latest Blue Jays hero and grand slam maestro, used to describe a magical Friday night in Toronto, an 11-4 win over the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener.

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And madness barely begins to describe the statement made by the Jays on a night 32 years in the making, the first Fall Classic game played in Toronto since those glorious championship teams.

By the time it was over, the home team delivered in every imaginable way in an ear-splitting night to remember. The fans loved it, lived it, revelled in it and in the end, rubbed the Dodgers superstar’s nose in it.

But let’s start with Barger, the power-hitting infielder who made Fall Classic history with his sixth-inning blast, the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. After the game teammate Davis Schneider – who Barger replaced – revealed that his pal and teammate slept on a pullout couch in his room at the hotel attached to the Rogers Centre.

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However many hours later, he’d launch a ball that landed in the stands to the right and below.

It was that kind of night, a statement win over a team touted to be a heavy favourite over the upstart, never-say-die American League champs.

“In this stage of the season, if you’re starting or if you’re not starting, there’s a pretty specific approach and plan with what you’re trying to do,” manager John Schneider said of Barger’s epic blast. “For a young guy to go out and execute is another thing. So a really cool moment for him.”

Most importantly for that frenzied home crowd and an incredibly driven Blue Jays team, what unfolded was one of the most remarkable big-game nights in the city’s history.  It was a slaughter in almost every sense of the word.

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Played out before a sellout crowd of 44,353, most of whom barely touched their seats all night, the Blue Jays didn’t just defeat the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, they knocked them to the Rogers Centre carpet.

The lopsided thrashing showed the baseball world just how serious — and seriously talented — this last-to-first Jays team is and how it won’t be pushed around by a perceived heavy favourite. And the noise in the Rogers Centre, brought to life in Canada by Sportsnet and in the U.S. by FOX showed that his may not be L.A., but it’s hardly a small market, either.

And what a delight it was in the final inning of the game when Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani  — the same Japanese legend who spurned the Jays almost two years ago — was serenaded by the crowd as he came to the plate.

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“We don’t need you,” they chanted as the Jays were one out away from the win.

By then, the Dodgers carnage was everywhere, further fuelling the Jays faithful that couldn’t get enough of it.

Yes, the Blue Jays drew first blood — almost literally — in the 121st edition of the Fall Classic, riding an historic nine-run sixth inning to a raucous, one-sided bleep-kicking.

Before the game, outfielder Daulton Varsho talked about the many things that define this Blue Jays team, elements that have defined them on their drive to the American League title.

They may not be heavyweights every night, but as Varsho said prior to the game that they are a proven contender and they’ll always have a puncher’s chance.

“For us, we’re just like that boxer that keeps punching in the ribs and takes the smaller shots,” Varsho said. “We’re not the team that tries to get the upper-cut every single time.

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“But sometimes, that big blow doesn’t hurt either. And we’re capable of that.”

Boy are they ever.

There was no jabbing involved from the fourth inning on. Down 2-0, Varsho got things started with a two-run shot to deep centre field off of ace starter Blake Snell to tie the game and then the Jays hit hard.

The nine-run sixth inning was a bloodbath for the National League champs, highlighted by a towering grand slam from Addison Barger. It was an historic blast at that, the first pinch-hit slam in World Series history.

Three batters later, with the crowd still in a frenzy, Alejandro Kirk hit a two-run shot to send it into blowout mode.

Some takeaways from a magical night that, in the mind’s of many who have not followed this Jays season, may have changed a few things.

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SENSATIONAL SIXTH

The Jays entered the inning tied 2-2 in a tight game, but all night they had been getting to Dodgers ace Blake Snell with minimal damage. But in the sixth, they blew the doors off the ace left-hander and more.

There were the nine runs on just six hits with 12 batters sent to the plate, all Jays franchise post-season records.

And that was on top of Barger’s historic grand slam, his fourth homer of these playoffs.

Moreover, it was the type of inning that made the Jays offence so lethal throughout the regular season and playoffs. It’s an unpredictable group that can fell an opponent in so many ways that it becomes dizzying and near indefensible when everything clicks.

There was the bottom of the order moving the line along — as always — with a single from Ernie Clement, a walk from Nathan Lukes and another RBI single from No. 9 hitter Andres Gimenez.

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With no outs, that set the stage for Barger’s slam, two batters later.

Watching in the clubhouse was starter Trey Yesavage, who battled through a high pitch count but still managed to limit the powerhouse Dodgers to just a pair of runs.

“I had some other pitchers in there with me, and we were jumping all around, high-fiving every time (a run, or four, came in.) It was great to see the offence rolling, one through nine.”

“That was a little bit more than what we could have hoped for,” manager Schneider said. “But that inning, to watch those guys navigate that was pretty cool.

“That’s kind of how we roll. So much credit to the guys up and down the lineup being ready to come into the game. They were ready during BP.  Those were some pretty terrific at-bats from everyone up and down the order.”

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On offence, the Jays strategy is clear: Get to the starters (the Dodgers) strength and force the bullpen (their weakness) in. They certainly did that on Friday, getting Snell to throw 100 pitches and scatter seven hits over five and change innings, by far his worst of four postseason outings this October.

SLOWING SHOHEI

The boxscore will show that Ohtani did hit a two-run homer in the seventh, his sixth of these playoffs, but the Jays had already done their damage by then.

In the Japanese superstar’s first three at-bats, the results were much more notable for the Jays.

Yesavage, who wasn’t shutting down Dodgers hitters, but at least limited them to just two earned runs in his four innings, struck out Ohtani to open the game and later forced him to ground out in his second at-bat. Mason Fluharty would strike out Ohtani to lead off the fifth.

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As for the chant at end of the game, kudos to the crowd for a clever and fun jeer that is not always a strength of a Toronto sports throng. Manager Schneider chose his words carefully when asked about showing up Shohei.

“I just wanted to get the third out,” the manager said, tongue possiblly in cheek. “I love energetic fan bases. It happens in different ways and shapes and forms in every stadium. Kind of heard it, but it’s tough to talk about a player like that. He’s special. I’m glad that the home run that he hit came when it came and we had a little cushion.

“But I love that our fans are passionate about our team.”

THE SCENE

It was a truly remarkable night at the downtown dome, home of a fan base that was over the top supportive since the beginning of August.

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A sensational pre-game show included current manager John Schneider taking the ceremonial first pitch from Cito Gaston, who guided the 1992 and ’93 championship teams.

That got the fans into the mood, a party vibe that never wavered even after the Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a run in each of the second and third innings.

Ohtani was booed lustily in pre-game introductions, every time he reached the plate while Jays players were serenaded all night.

The loudest cheers early were reserved for Bo Bichette, making his playoff debut after suffering a knee injury in early September.

Bichette had a single, a walk and turned an amazing defensive play for an out from his new spot at second base, validating the team’s decision to put him on the post-season roster.

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The noise, deafening at times, was clearly felt by the team, likely both of them.

“The crowd was electric tonight,” Schneider said. “They have been waiting a long time for a World Series to come back here. I hope that they’re just as loud, if not louder, (on Saturday.)

“You can’t take it for granted. This is a special place to play. Everyone here in this city here, in this building, and across the country, we feel it for sure.”

FUN FACTS

Schneider stacked his lineup with right-handed hitters to face Dodgers ace Snell, but go figure that it was a left-handed hitter to get things started. In fact, Varsho’s two-run shot was the first homer Snell allowed to a left-handed hitter all season. Incredible.

The nine-run sixth was the third-most in an single inning in World Series history and the most in more than half a century. The only two bigger – a 10-run seventh inning for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929 and another 10-spot from the 1968 Detroit Tigers.

The 14 Toronto hits were the most in a World Series Game 1 since the Giants matched that total in 2010.

The winner of Game 1 of the World Series has gone on to win the title 77 times or a 64.2 per cent success rate. In recent context, 18 of the past 22 and 23 of the past 27 to draw first blood have captured the Fall Classic.

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