TORONTO — Miguel Rojas hit a tying home run Jeff Hoffman in the top of the ninth inning, saved the game with stellar defensive play in the bottom half, then watched his catcher, Will Smithwin it in extra innings.
Smith provided Los Angeles Dodgers with their first lead in Game 7 of the World Series with a solo home run in the top of the 11th, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished Toronto Blue Jays in the lower half, sealing the spectacular 5-4 victory on Saturday night that gave Los Angeles another championship
“You dream about those moments, you know, extra innings, putting your team ahead, I'll remember that forever,” Smith said after the game.
The Dodgers became the first repeat World Series champions in a quarter century, and it took everything they had to do it.
It took all their starting pitchers… Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yamamoto, who pitched the first six innings of Game 6 and the last 2⅔ innings of Game 7, checking the game. It took Rojas and Smith to produce huge hits.
And in the end, Yamamoto needed a decisive double blow. The Blue Jays had runners on the corners with one out. Alejandro Kirk the deadline has expired. Yamamoto hit an 0-2 splitter and Kirk broke his bat, hitting a grounder and stopping the ball. Mookie Betts stepped in second and fired first to win it all.
For his efforts throughout the series, Yamamoto was named World Series MVP.
“We have a special group of guys, man,” Smith said. “We just never gave up… Oh, it was a struggle for seven games.”
The Dodgers dominated the National League West for more than a decade, winning 12 division titles in the last 13 years. They have shed their reputation as a team that consistently failed to live up to expectations in October. They have won three championships over the past six years, including following the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, and are now the first team to win back-to-back championships since New York Yankees claimed third place in a row in 2000.
The Dodgers' road there was more difficult than expected.
They again suffered numerous injuries throughout their starting rotation and taxed a bullpen that later struggled to consistently get out of games. About halfway through the season, their stellar offense took a nosedive. In the end, a team that many expected to challenge the 116-win regular season record finished with just 93, barely clinging to the lead. San Diego Padres in the division.
But the Dodgers' stellar rotation returned to form in September, dominating opposing hitters with a 2.07 ERA.
This continued in October. The Dodgers swept by Cincinnati Redssurvived Philadelphia Phillies and swept Milwaukee Brewers reach the World Series for the fifth time in nine years. During that stretch, Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani went 7-1 with a 1.36 ERA.
The Dodgers entered the final round as heavy favorites, but faced a Blue Jays team that taxed their starters, put a lot of pressure on their flagging offense, and challenged them like no other.
The Blue Jays won Game 1 by defeating the Dodgers' middle pitchers, scoring nine runs in the sixth inning. But Yamamoto responded with a masterpiece in the second game, throwing his second complete game in a row, and Freddie Freeman capped the 18-inning marathon in Game 3 with another memorable World Series homer.
When the Blue Jays won Game 4 and dominated Trey Yesavage To also win Game 5, the Dodgers were forced to win back-to-back games in Toronto to clinch another title. They accepted the challenge.
In the ninth inning of Game 6, the Blue Jays were two out and trailing by two runs, but Enrique Hernandez attacked the sinking liner, caught the ball and threw to second base, where Rojas fielded a single hopper to complete the first double play in postseason history with a 7–4 game-ending score. Game 7 was Rojas again, finally breaking through for a Dodgers team that had consistently lacked RBI opportunities.
With the Dodgers trailing 4–3 with one out and no out in the ninth, Rojas reached for a 3–2 slider from Hoffman and sent it into the Blue Jays left bullpen for his first extra-base hit of the postseason. The Blue Jays then loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out when Rojas grounded out. Dalton Varsho landed and made an off-balance throw at the target, barely reaching the target. Isaiah Keener-Fear during. Andy Pages ran downstairs Ernie Clementa long drive a few moments later.
Then came the final play, a 6-3 double play from Betts to Freeman that stopped the Blue Jays' final rally and made the Dodgers the kings of the sport again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
