The 2025 World Series marathon captivated fans around the globe this past weekend, with the Los Angeles Dodgers securing their ninth World Series title. As the first back-to-back champions since 1976, the Dodgers triumphed over the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling seventh and final game.
The series began in Toronto, Canada, setting the stage for a dramatic opener. The Blue Jays showcased their hitting and sharp defensive plays, beating the Dodgers 11–4. A highlight of the game came from Toronto’s third baseman and outfielder, Addison Barger, who hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history during a nine-run sixth-inning rally. His hitting from the beginning gave the Blue Jays a head start in the series.
“They brought in the lefty (Anthony Banda) for me, and I was just trying to put the ball in play, get a run home, hopefully,” Barger said. “That was kind of my only goal, and it ended up working out better than that.”
The Dodgers responded in Game Two, winning 5–1 behind the dominant pitching of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed just one run and shut down the Blue Jays’ offense, tying the series 1–1.
Game Three became one for the books. The Dodgers’ 6–5 victory stretched for 18 innings, the first World Series game to reach that length since 2018. Fans watched in suspense for 6 hours and 39 minutes, witnessing a historic showdown where both teams exhausted their rosters and even went through more than 560 baseballs.
An unexpected hero came out of this game, rookie Will Klein. With the bullpen completely depleted, Klein, who had just joined the Dodgers this year, became the team’s last available pitcher. Smith threw four scoreless innings and struck out five batters. This game demonstrated his ability to help the team win under pressure.
“I realized that when I looked around in the bullpen and my name was the only one still there… I was just going to go until I couldn’t, and that’s kind of what happened,” Klein said to postgame reporters.
This hard-fought win gave the Dodgers a 2–1 series lead, shifting the Series in their favor and setting the stage for an intense second rally. Their back-to-back battle in games four and five took the teams to the final game, game seven.
The Blue Jays started strong, with a 3-0 lead by the third inning from Bo Bichette. The game was forced into extra innings because of Miguel Rojas’s game-tying home run in the ninth inning. By the top of the 11th, Will Smith took the plate after his remarkable postseason and pitching in the World Series. His home run off Shane Bieber made the game 5-4, with the Dodgers taking the lead.
“Man, they’re a special group of guys,” Smith said after the game. “We just never gave up, kept fighting, pitching our asses off, hitting, taking great at-bats. Finally punched through there. Man, that was a fight for seven games. That’s a really good Toronto Blue Jays team. I’m just excited. There’s nothing better than this.”
The Dodgers closed out the seven games of the series with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. With zero days’ rest, back-to-back games, and a highly ranked team, Yamamoto forced an end-game play. His statistics were impressive, with a 3-0 record, a 1.39 ERA, and the title MVP as he closed out the 2025 World Series.
