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They dreamed of this moment for years, did Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, Blue Jays superstars in waiting, a vision that began when they were teenaged teammates and never wavered.
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And until the final desperate moments of a spellbinding night of Game 7 drama at the Rogers Centre, it looked as though the two would be linked forever with a group of relentless and unyielding teammates as unlikely World Series champions.
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Bichette’s three-run homer in the third inning – a tour de force that nearly brought the house down – seemed for so long on this high drama night as though it would be a defining moment of this era of Blue Jays baseball.
Instead, a crushing, heart-wrenching collapse allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to repeat as champions, finishing of a late-game rally with a 5-4 extra-innings triumph to break a team and a nation’s heart.
“I wish we could have won it together,” Bichette said of his pal Guerrero in the painful aftermath of a Blue Jays clubhouse in which a lot of tears were spilled. “I wish we could have shared that moment together.”
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And for Vlad, who admitted his long-time compadre could be lost in pending free agency, the ending was that much more excruciating.
“I think I enjoyed that home run more than him,” Guerrero said. “Seeing him do that, it was unbelievable.
“I would love to finish my career playing with him, but it’s free agency. He’s got to go do his thing and go get his money.”
That uncertainty going forward was certainly at the root of the anguish in the Jays clubhouse, where behind closed doors the tears were flowing. Once the loss is processed and the pain eased, the team will rightfully be able to look back at one of the most impressive seasons in franchise history, a last-to-first season that took them to the World Series for just the third time and the first since 1993.
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The emotions were too raw and fresh as Saturday night moved to Sunday morning, however.
“It’s just 30 guys that truly, truly believed each other, truly loved each other,” said another pending free agent, pitcher Chris Bassitt, his voice breaking as he spoke. “I hope I have another chance with this group. I really do.
“I’ll definitely cherish this group forever.”
But back to the Bichette homer, which truly felt like a series and era defining moment both when the bat hit ball and the ball left the park to a great eruption all around. Bichette stopped to admire it than slowly jogged around the bases while Guerrero danced his way around, both arms in the air in triumph.
It was a fleeting if fabulous moment, even if it meant the end of the dynamic Blue Jays duo.
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“For a guy that has been a staple of this team for the past six or seven years, to have Vlad intentionally walked, and then (Bichette) went dead centre on the first pitch, it was so fitting,” manager John Schneider said afterwards. “It felt right at the time.
“Bo, what he did to get back is nothing short of amazing. He’s playing on one leg. So in the moment, it felt right.”
Schneider, who managed both players since the time they were teenagers, had similar praise for Guerrero.
“The entire postseason, Vladimir took his game to another level,” Schneider said of the face of the franchise who was two outs from likely being named World Series MVP. ” I think for players that are here and that are going to be here in the future, knowing that we got 14 more years of Vladimir Guerrero Jr playing complete baseball is an awesome thing for our team and for our fans.”
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Some takeaways from a tough ending to an incredible season.
THE BITTER END
The final, fatal blow came off of the bat of Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who belted a solo homer in the 11th inning that soared over the wall in left field and into the Blue Jays bullpen.
The Jays tried to rally in the bottom of the 11th but couldn’t get Guerrero home from third base with one out.
The faces of the crestfallen Jays players in the dugout will linger for a while, an incredible season ending in such a forlorn way. Nobody wanted it to end – not the crowd of 44,713, not the rabid fan base across the country, and not the players themselves.
Yes, a World Series Game 7 went to extra innings for just the sixth time in history, ended in agony for the Jays, especially considering they led 4-2 headed into the eighth only to see it fritter away in maddening fashion.
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The problem was that the Dodgers were relentless in drawing square and finishing off a magnificent comeback of their own – both in the game in the series – as they arrived here in Toronto trailing the best-of-seven series, 3-2. They leave the first team to repeat as World Series champs since the Yankees in 2000.
The trappings were all around for a memorable celebration, one 32 years in the making for a team that had slumbered for years but began a rejuvenation a year ago.
Instead, heartbreak of the unfathomable variety. The Dodgers, scrappy in their own right, fought back with runs in the eight and the ninth – the a latter a one-out solo home run off of Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman by No. 9 hitter Miguel Rojas – to force extra innings.
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THE COLLAPSE
The Jays never led by more than the three runs provided by the Bichette collapse and the Dodgers kept plugging away. They scored one run in the third before the late rally in the eighth and ninth, the latter a solo homer by Max Muncy off of rookie sensation Troy Yesavage.
Miguel Rojas followed with a solo shot of his own in the ninth – this time off of closer Jeff Hoffman to send the game to extras. But even after Muncy launched his would-be game winner, the Jays weren’t done in the bottom half of the 11th.
After Guerrero led off with a big double to kick the Jays into rally time of their own, Isiah Kiner-Falefa laid down an perfect sacrifice bunt to move the Jays emotional leader to third.
That set up the double-play possibility and when Game 6 starter turned Game 7 closer Yoshinobu Yamamoto got Alejandro Kirk to dribble a broken bat hit to second basement that’s exactly what happened.
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Four hours and seven minutes after it began, an epic Blue Jays World Series bid came to its crash ending.
And it felt like the one that got away.
“I thought that we played our game, and our game is as good as anybody in baseball,” Schneider said of going toe-to-toe and exchanging blows with the defending champs. “So is it two heavyweights going back and forth.
“I put this group of guys against any other 26 players in the entire planet. Yeah, we had our chances to beat them soundly, and we didn’t, and that’s baseball.”
HOW THE JAYS PLAN WORKED TO (NEAR) PERFECTION
After a terrific start from 41-year-old veteran Max Scherzer, who gave his team 4.1 innings of intense mastery – holding the Dodgers to just one – the bullpen took over.
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Louis Varland cleaned up the fifth while Chris Bassitt gave up his first run of the post-season in the sixth. And that set the stage for 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage who exited the dugout to a huge ovation to come in for the seventh.
And how about this for a showdown to start it – facing Ohtani to lead off the inning. Perhaps showing some nerves, Yesavage let him reach via walk but retired the next three thanks to a ground ball double play with some more slick fielding by his infielder teammates as the rookie raises his arms in celebration.
Yesavage returned for the eighth, retiring two of the three batters he faced while allowing a solo home run to Max Muncy to add one final layer of intrigue to the proceedings.
But closer Jeff Hoffman took over from there, getting the final out in the eighth and then on to the most important assignment of his career to close it out. When Hoffman fell short, however, it was on to extras and the disappointing result.
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ERNIE, ERNIE, (AND FRIENDS)
A pair of hits from Clement, the versatile infielder who was one of those reliable but unheralded Jays hitters all season were huge.
The biggest was his RBI single in the sixth, his 29th of the postseason matched an MLB record, but more importantly scored when Gimenez drove him in to give the Jays some insurance.
And then Clement brought the house down one more time in the eighth, ripping a double to the wall in left centre for his 30th knock of these playoffs to claim the record as his own.
The chants of “Ernie, Ernie, Ernie,” echoed through the dome as the crowd could sense what awaited.
Clement was typical of the type of player that has helped fuel this team. Sure, there has been the star power that Bichette and Guerrero supply, but there have also been the Clements and players such as Nathan Lukes, Addison Barger and more.
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And Clement wasn’t done yet, almost playing the ultimate hero with a loud fly ball out with two down in the ninth. A towering shot went right to the wall before centre fielder Andy Pages ran over a teammate to make the grab.
“When we win, it will bee a special feeling just because of all the ups and downs,” Clement said hours before first pitch. “You get to play with 30 of your best friends and that doesn’t happen every year.
“It’s one last game with my favourite team I’ve ever been a part of.”
And that feeling was appreciated both for the effort from Clement and the opportunity he seized.
“Unbelievable run that he was on this entire postseason and, man, he’s turned himself (from) what people think was a waiver wire pickup or a guy that’s kicked around the minors into an everyday Major Leaguer that is going to contribute to win a world championship.”
AROUND THE BASES
That Yoshinobu Yamamoto came on in relief to close it out was fitting given how he dominated Jays hitters over his two starts and his relief appearance. For that, the Japanese pitcher was named the Willie Mays World Series MVP.
- The Blue Jays scored 105 runs with 190 hits and 99 RBI in their 18 Postseason games, setting single Postseason records in each category.
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