World Series: Blue Jays Ride Nine-run Sixth to Rout of Dodgers

Addison Barger of the Blue Jays hitting a grand slam against the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2025 World Series

Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images

October 24, 2025

2025 World Series, Game One: Blue Jays 11, Dodgers 4

The Toronto Blue Jays scored 11 straight runs, capped by a nine-run sixth, to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11–4, in Game One of the 2025 World Series Friday night in Toronto. Daulton Varsho hit a game-tying two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell in the fourth. In the sixth, the Blue Jays sent 12 men to the plate to turn a 2–2 tie into an 11–2 laugher. Alejandro Kirk went 3-for-3 with a walk, a homer, two RBI, and three runs scored to lead the way for the home nine.

Blue Jays – Dodgers Game Summary

The Blue Jays threatened in the bottom of the first, bookending a pair of walks around a single to right by Bo Bichette. This loaded the bases for Varsho, but Snell got him to pop up to center for the third out and leave the bases loaded. “Varsh just missed a breaking ball,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said in the postgame press conference. “But it’s 29 pitches. He made (Snell) work. Not a lot of swing-and-miss.”

The Dodgers put one across against rookie Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage on a single to left-center by Enrique Hernandez in the next half-inning, but they also left the bases loaded. Despite missing the chance to score more, they still led 1–0. They increased their lead to 2–0 in the third after an RBI single to right by Will Smith. But the Varsho home run in the bottom of the fourth tied the score.

Though Snell had early success, the Blue Jays forced him to use a lot of pitches to get them out. Consequently, when he left the game after throwing his 100th pitch, it was only the bottom of the sixth. That brought in Emmet Sheehan with the bases loaded and nobody out. Ernie Clement welcomed him with a single to left-center, giving the Blue Jays a 3–2 lead. Nathan Lukes — hitting for Myles Straw — drew a bases loaded walk to plate another run, and Andres Gimenez kept the line moving with a single to right. That brought up George Springer with the bases loaded, nobody out, and the Blue Jays holding a 5–2 lead. He grounded into a fielder’s choice force play at home, bringing up Davis Schneider.

Blowing It Open

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts summoned Anthony Banda, and Schneider countered with pinch-hitter Addison Barger. Barger rewarded his manager with the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, and the rout was on. “It’s one out,” Schneider said. “You trust Barg to have a good approach to, hopefully, hit a sac fly, and then you get Vladdy against Banda. And Barg, man, he didn’t budge. He was ready to go and hit a mistake pitch.”

Kirk added a two-run homer later that inning, giving the Blue Jays an 11–2 lead after a nine-run sixth. Shohei Ohtani launched a two-run dinger in the top of the seventh to make the score 11–4, finishing the scoring on the night.

What Went Right for the Dodgers

Took Early Lead

The Dodgers scored in the second and again in the third to take a 2–0 lead, which they held into the sixth.

Long Innings against Yesavage

The Dodgers’ turns at bat in the second and third lasted 29 and 27 pitches, respectively. This gave Yesavage an early shower, chasing him out of the game after four innings.

What Went Wrong for the Dodgers

Missed Opportunities

In the second, despite scoring a run, the Dodgers left the bases loaded. They also left a runner in scoring position in the third.

Lots of Pitches to Get Outs

It took 29 pitches for Snell to get through the first inning. He took 17 to get through the fourth, the inning in which Varsho hit the tying homer. And Snell, Sheehan, and Banda took a combined 42 pitches to survive the sixth.

The Sixth Inning

From the Department of the Obvious, the bottom of the sixth was an unmitigated disaster for the Dodgers. The nine runs they allowed were the third-most ever in a single World Series inning. Only the 1968 Detroit Tigers and 1929 Philadelphia Athletics eclipsed this record. The Tigers had a 10-run third against the St Louis Cardinals in Game Six, and the Athletics had a 10-run seventh in Game Four against the Chicago Cubs. In the case of the Athletics, they started that turn at bat trailing, 8–0, so the 10-spot gave them the largest comeback to win in World Series history. “We just didn’t make pitches when we needed to to keep that game close,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the frame.

What Went Right for the Blue Jays

Grinding At-bats

The Blue Jays, as mentioned earlier, forced Snell to throw a lot of pitches while getting them out. One example came in the first inning, when Kirk grinded out a nine-pitch at-bat with runners on the corners and two outs in bottom of first. He ultimately walked to load the bases. While the Blue Jays did not score in that frame, they forced Snell to throw 29 pitches. Doing so meant he couldn’t go deep in the game, which also meant the Blue Jays would face the shaky Dodgers relievers sooner.

“We had a good approach off him,” Varsho said. “We made him work. That was the biggest thing. They have a good pitching and starting staff, so I think for us just to be able to grind out at-bats knowing we needed to pass the baton to the next guy, that’s been our M.O. all year, and we trusted it.”

Limited Strikeouts while Hitting

Out of 40 plate appearances, the Blue Jays struck out four times.

Took Advantage of Opportunities

The Blue Jays batted 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position. After leaving the bases loaded in the first, they only left two runners on the entire rest of the game. Neither was in scoring position.

What Went Wrong for the Blue Jays

Fell Behind Early

The Blue Jays trailed 1–0 at the end of the second and 2–0 at the end of the third.

Leadoff Walks

Blue Jays pitchers issued three leadoff walks. All three scored.

Umpires

Congratulations to the seven umpires named to this World Series crew. In Game One, the crew had Will Little (HP), Crew Chief Mark Wegner (1B), John Tumpane (2B), Alan Porter (3B), Adam Hamari (LF), and Jordan Baker (RF). Adrian Johnson was the reserve for Game One and will have the plate for Game Two. This is the third World Series for both Wegner and Porter, the second for Baker, and the first one for the rest.

Quick Hits

Prior to the two-run blast from Daulton Varsho, the last World Series home run for the Blue Jays was the Series-ending home run by Joe Carter in 1993. The pitch he hit was being thrown to Darren Daulton, for whom Varsho is named. “Getting named after him — pretty cool,” Varsho said. “It’s a surreal moment, being full circle for me. It’s honestly an honor to be named after him.” Varsho’s father, Gary, was Darren Daulton’s teammate with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1995. The younger Varsho was born July 2, 1996.

Barger became the 38th player to homer in his first World Series plate appearance. The last to do so was Michael A. Taylor for the Washington Nationals in Game Two of the 2019 Series. Of the 38 players, Barger is the first to have his homer be a grand slam.

Kirk reached base safely four times, the sixth catcher to do so in Game One of a World Series. The last to do so was Thurman Munson (1977), and the others were Elston Howard (1962), Wes Westrum (1951), Hall of Famer Bill Dickey (1938), and Hank Gowdy (1914). Westrum was on the New York Giants and Gowdy was on the Boston Braves. Other than Kirk, every other player on this list did so with the New York Yankees.

While playing Game One of a World Series as the road team, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers are now 1–12 as a franchise. Their only win came in 1963, when Sandy Koufax pitched a 5–2 complete game victory at Yankee Stadium. The Dodgers went on to sweep that Series, which was the only time they ever closed out a World Series championship at home.

Looking Ahead

Seranthony Dominguez earned the win in relief as Snell took the loss.

The Blue Jays and Dodgers will play Game Two Saturday night in Toronto. It will be a duel of righties — Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers and Kevin Gausman for the Blue Jays. First pitch will be around 8 pm Eastern/5 pm Pacific. The game will be broadcast on Fox in the United States. In Canada, Sportsnet will carry the English broadcast and TVA will have the French broadcast.