Even baseball fans who played in '92 and '93 have never seen it: The Toronto Blue Jays will play a winner-take-all Game 7 of the World Series for the first time in history—and while hope remains high, you can feel the city's blood pressure rising.
Despite a strong start from Kevin Gausman and a promising rally late in the game, the Blue Jays missed their first chance to clinch the series in Game 6 on Friday, losing 3-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's been an exciting October, but the dramatic wins and losses, nervousness and late-game timing are taking their toll on some Jays fans like Maria Havelka, who attended a party downtown at Nathan Phillips Square during Game 6.
“It was so disappointing. I spent six hours here in the cold. We expected to at least tie the game,” she said, lamenting the Blue Jays' inability to get the tying run from second base when there was no one out in the final inning.
The World Series heads into a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday after the Toronto Blue Jays lost Game 6 to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1. The Jays are seeking their first championship since 1993.
But Havelka, like several other CBC Toronto fans she spoke to at Friday's party, said she's keeping the faith.
“We're going to fight back. We always have. We're going to win,” she said. “I believe with all my heart that we will win tomorrow and knock the Dodgers out of the stadium.”
Game 6 was another exciting matchup in one of the best World Series of the last decade, if not this century.
About that ninth inning…
All of the runs in the game were scored in the third inning. The Dodgers scored three runs on hits by catcher Will Smith and shortstop Mookie Betts, while the Jays' only run was interrupted by a single by George Springer, who returned to the lineup for the first time since what some thought was a season-ending injury in Game 3.
It was the only one The starting lineup included Los Angeles' Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Toronto's Kevin Gausman, although the Blue Jays had several chances to score throughout the game, including late in the game.
In the ninth inning, it seemed for a moment that “the power of friendship”—the Blue Jays’ secret weapon, according to infielder Ernie Clement—was destined to win.
The Blue Jays started the final inning when Alejandro Kirk reached base after being hit in the arm. Addison Barger then hit a freakish double on a ball that was stuck between the outfield wall and the turf. The result was a tie in second place and a home run with no outs.
But Ernie Clement's powerful hitter popped up on the first pitch he saw. Barger was then caught on a bad base run and doubled in the second after Andres Jimenez singled to shallow left field.
And this was in the sixth game.
Jays fan Mackenzie Barwell summed it up simply: “Just disappointing.”
“It ended very suddenly. We thought something else might come out of it,” she said. “However, this is not the end.”
Barger's odd double caused controversy on the field.
When Barger's ball was caught in the fence in left-center field, the outfield umpire immediately used two fingers to signal for a ground-rule double. The hit put runners on second and third base, but the Jays failed to score in the 9th inning. However, the Jays have a golden opportunity to exit the World Series in Game 7 on Saturday.
The Jays' left fielder hit a long drive down the line that perfectly sandwiched the ball between the field and the fence in left-center. The Los Angeles outfielders raised their hands to call a timeout, refusing to play the ball, while Barger and Miles Straw circled the bases to hit an apparent inside-the-park home run to tie the game. But the umpires ruled the ball dead, and the sold-out Rogers Center crowd booed unsuccessfully as runners returned to second and third.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Jays fan Mark Chinchilla said as Nathan Phillips Square quietly emptied. “It's very unfortunate. But I still believe. We did very well and I'm hoping for a seventh game.”
Potential HOF matchup in Game 7
The last time the World Series went to seven games, the starting pitcher for the 2019 champion Washington Nationals was none other than Max Scherzer, who just so happened to be the Jays' starter on Saturday.
Los Angeles has not confirmed thatHo will take the mound to start Game 7, but it looks like it will be a battle of two future Hall of Fame stars: veteran Scherzer and versatile baseball player in his prime Shohei Ohtani.
For baseball fans, this would be a dream matchup, although each pitcher has his own pros and cons.
Although Ohtani is widely considered the best hitter in baseball, he gave up four runs in his Game 4 loss and will be on a short rest Saturday.
Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of his generation, having played in the World Series three times before and won two. The third ring will be a fitting end to an amazing career. But he's now 41, and while he's shown glimpses of his former brilliance this year, including in the postseason, he's had his share of ups and downs and battled injuries since joining the Jays.
With nothing to worry about tomorrow, nearly every pitcher on both teams will be ready to pitch on Saturday, so expect both managers to empty their bullpens if things go south.
No matter who pitches, Saturday should be a celebration for the ages if the rest of the series is anything to go by.
And while some Jays fans are worried about what's next or are still stewingAs for what could have been on Friday, others like Jamal Teymurlu say the two teams were destined to go the distance.
“It was kind of written in the stars,” he said after the game. “To be honest, I called it [would go to] Game 7 at the start of the series. But I’m pretty confident we’ll get a Game 7.”
Check out the parties happening in Toronto
First pitch is set for 8:00 pm ET on Saturday at Rogers Center. The winner will become the baseball champion.
Watch parties will be held throughout Toronto, including at Scotiabank Arena, Nathan Phillips Square and the University of Toronto's downtown campus.
The City of Toronto says it is working closely with the Rogers Centre, Toronto Police, transit agencies and others to prepare for “all possible scenarios.”
Watch parties are also planned across the province, including at Celebration Square in Mississauga, Garden Square in Brampton, Springer Market Square in Kingston and Sault Ste. Maria Square in the city center.
