The Los Angeles Dodgers, down to their last two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7 of Major League Baseball 2025 World seriesproduced a stunning turnaround behind the back of Miguel Rojas, Will SmithAnd Yamamoto Yoshinobu to win the franchise’s ninth Fall Classic title in an epic 5-4 11-inning victory on Saturday night (Nov. 1).
Facing the Toronto blue jays in Toronto, looking to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series titles, the Dodgers fell behind early. Starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani gave up a three-run home run in the third inning as, under the closed roof of the Rogers Centre, a raucous Toronto crowd screamed and cheered at every Blue Jays at-bat with the home team hoping to end a three-decade title drought.
On a short rest — it was just three days since he started Game 4 of the series, instead of the usual four days of rest for MLB starting pitchers and the five days he often gets — Ohtani didn’t have his usual control on the mound, but pitched two scoreless innings before surprisingly returning for the third.
There he fell apart and gave up a three-run home run Bo Bichette before being pulled off the hill. His final line was three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings of work, with five hits and two walks allowed (three strikeouts). Ohtani’s performance at the plate was better, as he went 2-for-5 with two hits and also walked once.
Against Ohtani, the Blue Jays’ starter was Max Scherzera two-time World Series champion with rings from 2019 and 2023 and a former Dodger himself, having spent half a season in LA in 2021. Thanks to excellent fielding, Scherzer, in possibly his final postseason game, finished with a pitching line of 4 1/3 innings, four hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
The Jays kept their noses in front during regular play as the Dodgers tried to find their way back into the game. But with one out in the ninth inning, Rojas hit a tying homerun. Smith then hit the go-ahead (and ultimately game-winning) home run in the 11th, while Yamamoto – who had pitched yesterday – closed out the game.
The game capped a classic World Series, the first to go the full distance of seven games since the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in 2019. Not surprisingly, Yamamoto was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series after pitching in three separate games and holding the Jays to two runs in 17 2/3 innings of work.
The Dodgers’ back-to-back championships mark the first time a team has successfully defended the World Series since the World Series New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. It is the team’s ninth title in franchise history.
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