Blue Jays batter Dodgers with nine-run sixth inning to take World Series opener

Addison Barger launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history and Alejandro Kirk added a two-run homer as the Toronto Blue Jays stormed back to crush the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers 11–4 in Friday night’s opener at Rogers Centre.

Playing in their first Fall Classic in 32 years, the Blue Jays erupted for nine runs in the sixth inning, turning a 2–0 deficit into a blowout that electrified a sold-out home crowd and gave Toronto a 1–0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Barger’s 413-foot blast to center capped a historic inning that also included Kirk’s homer and a parade of baserunners against a shell-shocked Dodgers bullpen.

Los Angeles, seeking to become the first team in a quarter century to win back-to-back titles, had taken an early lead behind RBI singles from Enrique Hernández and Will Smith off Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage. The 22-year-old right-hander, making just his fourth postseason start, became the second-youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series opener. Despite early jitters, Yesavage limited the damage, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second and stranding another runner in the third.

Toronto began their comeback in the fourth when Kirk singled off the right-field wall and Daulton Varsho followed with a 423-foot homer to center off Blake Snell, who had not allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter in nearly five months.

Snell unraveled in the sixth, giving up a walk to Bo Bichette – playing his first game in seven weeks after a knee injury – followed by a Kirk single and a Varsho hit-by-pitch to load the bases. After Ernie Clement’s RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Nathan Lukes gave Toronto the lead, Andrés Giménez made it 5–2 with an RBI single to right. Manager Dave Roberts turned to Anthony Banda after reliever Emmet Sheehan failed to record an out, but Barger crushed Banda’s hanging slider deep into the night for a grand slam that made history and put the game out of reach. Kirk followed moments later with his fourth homer of the postseason, sending the crowd into delirium.

Shohei Ohtani, who drew boos throughout the night for rejecting Toronto’s $700m offer to sign with the Dodgers in December 2023, provided a brief spark with a two-run homer off Braydon Fisher in the seventh. But by then the Dodgers trailed by seven, and chants of “We don’t need you!” echoed through the dome when Ohtani batted in the ninth.

Snell was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. Seranthony Domínguez earned the win with one and one-third hitless innings in relief, while Yesavage struck out five in four gutsy frames. The Blue Jays finished with 14 hits, including three from Kirk and two from Bichette, who returned to second base for the first time since 2019.

The Dodgers, the team with the highest payroll in baseball, looked rusty after a weeklong layoff following their National League Championship Series sweep. Their bid for a third title in six years depends on rediscovering form quickly.

Game 2 is Saturday night at Rogers Centre, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting for Los Angeles against Toronto ace Kevin Gausman. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3–5 beginning Monday.