Yes, the Jays came up short — but what a ride

Even after a couple days of processing, it's still hard to believe that the Toronto Blue Jays didn't win this World Series.

After looking like the better team for much of the series, the Jays had multiple chances this weekend to finish off the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers and bring their long-suffering fans their first championship in 32 years. But somehow all those chances slipped away.

Returning to the ninth inning of Game 6 on Friday night, with Toronto trailing 3-1, the Jays caught a bad break when Addison Barger's hit to left-center field stuck under the wall, resulting in a ground-rule double that sent pinch-runner Miles Straw back to third and kept Barger at second. However, Toronto was tied for second and third place, never winning. But Ernie Clement came out on top weakly, leading to a play Jay fans will rue for a while: Barger gets picked second to finish the game when attacking Enrique Hernandez caught Andres Jimenez's liner shallow to left.

This certainly put a damper on Halloween. And even more horror awaited us in Game 7 on Saturday night.

Thanks to Bo Bichette's majestic 442-foot three-run homer in the third off Shohei Ohtani, Toronto took a 4-2 lead into the eighth, six outs away from victory. But after rookie sensation Trey Yesavage grounded out Mookie Betts, Max Muncy singled into the right field bleachers to cut Toronto's lead to one.

In the ninth, closer Jeff Hoffman struck out the first batter to leave the Jays just two outs away from winning. But #9 hitter Miguel Rojas is Miguel %@$# Rojas! – made like a modern-day Bucky Dent and hit a single to left to tie the game.

However, the Jays nearly scored twice in the bottom of the ninth. With the bases loaded and one out, Dalton Varsho grounded to second and runner Isaiah Keener-Falefa nearly beat a force out at home—video replay showed the catcher's foot coming off the plate but coming back down just in time to get a sliding IKF. Then, with the bases still loaded and two out, Clement hit a shot deep to left center that looked like it could lead to a dramatic victory until center fielder Andy Pages, inserted into the game just minutes earlier for protection, lunged forward to catch the ball and hold on to the ball despite colliding with Hernandez, the left fielder.

In the 11th, Dodger catcher Will Smith hit a solo homer to stop Shane Bieber, giving Los Angeles the lead for the first time. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led from the bottom with a double off the marvelous Yoshinobu Yamamoto called upon to put out the fire in the ninth despite throwing 96 pitches to win Game 6. A sac riot moved Guerrero to third before Yamamoto wisely passed the dangerous Barger.

The move to Barger put the winning run in the first place, but also created a potential game-ending double play involving heavyweight catcher Alejandro Kirk. The move paid off as Kirk soon landed on Betts for the twins kill, putting the Jays in a losing position. one of the most dramatic game sevens in baseball history.

Yamamoto was named World Series MVP after heroically getting the final eight outs on zero days of rest, he became just the fourth pitcher ever to win Games 6 and 7 of the same World Series, and the first since Arizona's Randy Johnson beat the Yankees in 2001. In the series, the 27-year-old Japanese right-hander went 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA in 17⅔ innings, striking out 15 and allowing just 10 hits.

Stars are born

I'm sorry for making you relive all of this in excruciating detail. But I think this will help us confirm that this is indeed one of the worst beats ever. A real heartbreaker for Jay fans across the country.

Still, what a trip. The team that finished last in the American League East last season won the division for the first time in a decade and came within striking distance of winning the World Series several times. They beat the hated Yankees in the playoffs, and George Springer joined the Mount Rushmore of big Jays homers by hitting the go-ahead run in Game 7 of the ALCS against Seattle.

Guerrero had the postseason of a lifetime, hitting eight homers to tie Ohtani for the lead while batting an absurd .397/494/.795 and putting up outstanding defense early on. He could have been the World Series MVP if just one of those big games had gone in Toronto's favor.

Bichette, who came out of the minors with Guerrero, returned from a seven-week absence with a sprained knee and bravely batted .348 in the World Series—and nearly made Jay history with that three-run homer in Game 7. Mad Max Scherzer, still mad after 41, turned back the clock by throwing 4⅓ innings of ball in one run in Game 7—and showed fans how this is important, and they meant it to him when he left (reluctantly, as always) from the mound.

New fan favorites have also emerged. Yesavage, just 22, broke the World Series rookie record with 12 batters in Game 5, just his eighth major league start. Barger hit .367 with three homers in the playoffs, including a huge two-run blast in Game 6 against Seattle. Good guy Davis Schneider got his big moment, hitting a home run on the very first pitch of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. And of course, the amazing Clement hit a stunning .411 in the playoffs. broke the record for most hits in one postseason and almost became the Joe Carter of his generation until Pages robbed him in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7. Pretty remarkable stuff, especially after Clement revealed he played with a hairline fracture on his left middle finger.

“I'm hurt. My whole body is hurt. I just want to stay in bed for about a month,” Clement said in a dejected Jays clubhouse after Game 7. “After this month I'll be ready to play baseball and I can't wait.”

Same thing, Ernie. Spring training can't go by fast enough.

What's next

Meanwhile, Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins have some work to do. Their free agents include Scherzer, who says he wants to continue playing, and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, who was shut down as a playoff reliever until giving up two hits, a walk and a run in the sixth inning of Game 7. Bieber has a US$16 million player option.

But the top priority is Bichette, who will hit the open market Thursday if Toronto is unable to re-sign him during the exclusive negotiation window. While his days as a shortstop may be over (a move to second or third base is likely), the 27-year-old was leading the major leagues in hits at the time of the injury and is now ready to cash in.

“I said I wanted to be here from the beginning,” Bichette said after Game 7, and it looks like it'll be hard to walk away from this close-knit group of guys after they came so close to the championship.

But Guerrero, who signed a 14-year extension worth $500 million in April, understands how the business works. “Obviously, I would like to finish my career playing with him,” Vladdy said. “But he has to do his thing, go and do what he has to do and get his money.”

Here's more about what's next for Jace.