It might even be an understatement to say that Game 1 of the World Series went exactly as the Toronto Blue Jays planned.
Rookie Trey Yesavage does enough to keep you in the game? Check. Knock out Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell relatively early? Check. Offence takes advantage of a weak Dodgers bullpen? Emphatic check.
In the end, all those check marks amounted to an 11-4 win for the Blue Jays over the defending-champion Dodgers, marking Toronto’s first World Series win since Joe Carter touched ’em all in 1993.
In a way, the victory encapsulated the 2025 Blue Jays: They were counted out by many pundits before the World Series even began. They fell behind 2-0 early.
But they never seemed to panic and just kept playing their game.
6th inning break out
Then, the crooked number arrived.
The Blue Jays broke things open in the sixth inning with nine runs, representing the most in a single World Series frame since the Detroit Tigers put up a 10-spot in 1968.
In the middle of it all was Addison Barger, who launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history 413 feet to right-centre field, sending Rogers Centre into pandemonium.
But while Barger will be remembered as the Game 1 hero, it was his teammates who set the stage with the patented Blue Jays offensive formula of patience and depth.
Bo Bichette, playing his first game since spraining his knee on Sept. 6, drew a lead-off walk to get things going. Alejandro Kirk followed up with an opposite-field single. Daulton Varsho worked a long at-bat, drawing the count full before being hit by a Snell pitch, ending the starter’s night.
Then, Ernie Clement gave the Blue Jays their first lead of the game with an RBI single. Pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk. Andrés Giménez added another RBI single to put the Jays up 5-2 and chase reliever Emmet Sheehan.
And then Barger went boom, immediately thrusting himself into Blue Jays lore.
Alejandro Kirk added a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Blue Jays even more breathing room, which ultimately allowed them to keep closer Jeff Hoffman and top reliever Louis Varland fresh ahead of Saturday’s game 2.
Not to be forgotten is the fourth inning, when Varsho provided the first bit of magic, launching a game-tying two-run home run off Snell, the Dodgers’ ace.
It was the first home run the lefty Snell has given up to a left-handed hitter since June 2024.
Yesavage battled — and made history
Rookie Trey Yesavage, the second-youngest pitcher to ever start a World Series game at just 22, battled his command through four innings, but limited the damage to just two runs.
His five strikeouts in this game also vaulted him into the franchise history books, giving him a record 27 Ks in one post-season.
Mason Fluharty and Seranthony Domínguez then pitched two high-leverage innings, keeping the Dodgers at bay.
Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani launched a two-run home run in the seventh inning.
But in the end, the game was such a blowout that Blue Jays fans began chanting “we don’t need you” at Ohtani, who famously spurned Toronto in free agency two years ago to go to the Dodgers instead.
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