World series Blue Jays flip the narrative, slam Dodgers in stunning Game 1 rout
TORONTO — Winning the pennant for the first time in a generation and then facing the defending champions, who have the most players in the game, is a subject of simultaneous admiration and skepticism, as the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays can attest.
But the Jays knew the Dodgers’ $320 million team had a weakness, and they executed their plan to expose it perfectly in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night, silencing not only the doubters but also raising the volume at the raucous Rogers Centre.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell was taken out of the game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth inning, after which the Blue Jays’ deep lineup squandered a nine-run lead on an uncertain Los Angeles bullpen, leading them to an 11-4 victory in front of a crowd of 44,353 spectators, who had come for Canada’s first Fall Classic since 1993.
Daulton Varsho, whose fourth-inning homer tied the game and whose hit set up a dramatic sixth-inning turnaround, said, “For us, batting consistently, knowing we have to pass the baton to the next guy, that’s been our motto all year. And we believed in it.”
Teams that win the first game of any best-of-seven postseason series have won that series 127 out of 196 times (64.8%). In the current 2-3-2 format series, teams that win the first game at home have won the series 69 out of 102 times (67.6%). Interestingly, teams that have won seven-game League Championship Series, like the Blue Jays, have gone undefeated in the last four World Series against opponents that defeated them in the LCS, as have the Dodgers.
Considered the all-time champions before the start of the season, the Dodgers finally began to perform like that this postseason, with their rotation of Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani posting a 1.40 ERA on their way to the National League pennant. With this impressive starting performance, several potential Hall of Famers at the top of the lineup, and the prestige gained from their recent record, the Dodgers were clear favorites in this Fall Classic.
Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda said, “Tonight was awful.”
Varsho tied the game with a powerful shot to dead center in the fourth inning, and Barger and Alejandro Kirk both pitched brilliantly in the sixth inning, giving the Jays control. They set the tone early by getting Snell to pitch 29 innings in a scoreless but productive first inning, a sign of things to come.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Snell, who has spent much of his career trying to advance with walks and rarely finishing what he starts, was at his best this October. There were no walks, his control was sharp, and Snell was naturally a force.
However, he struggled to find the zone in this inning, and the Blue Jays waited for him.
Snell said, “If I’m going to strike out, they’ll swing. … I took a walk and was just backing off. I just have to get better, find the ball.”
Although the Dodgers got Toronto’s new starter Trey Yesavage out in the first, RBI singles by Kiké Hernández in the second and Will Smith in the third made it 2-0. It was an average performance from the 22-year-old, who struggled to figure out his signature splitter in just his seventh Major League start. Yesavage, who began the season pitching for Single-A Dunedin but faced Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman in the World Series, lasted only four innings, but he prevented the loss from spiraling out of control.
This allowed the Blue Jays to consistently outplay Snell. The surest sign of Snell’s good form came in the fourth inning when Warshaw hit a two-run fastball past the center-field batter’s eye in the first inning. It was not only Snell’s first home run since August 29th, but also his first home run for a left-handed batter all season.
The 2-2 home run was also a good example of baseball’s connection: in the most recent World Series played in this building, Joe Carter’s Game 6 walk-off homer came with Darren Daulton—the catcher after whom his teammate Gary Warshaw named his son—behind home plate for the Phillies.
“It’s a surreal moment, like a full circle for me,” Warshow said.
However, another plate appearance by Warshow truly changed the game. Bo Bichette, newly rejoined the team after a six-week absence due to a left knee problem and reassigned to second base, drew a leadoff walk from Snell at sixth base, and Kirk hit a groundball single to right. Warshow got the count full on a flustered Snell, whose payoff pitch struck Warshow’s right shoulder.
Warshow yelped in pain at that ball, but the Blue Jays bowled the next one. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took Snell out after that 100th pitch and gave the ball to Emmett Sheehan despite the bases being jammed. It didn’t end well.
Ernie Clemente continued his unexpected postseason hit parade with a groundstroke.