Oct. 24 (UPI) — Toronto Blue Jays hitters made Blake Snell’s knee-buckling changeup merely mortal, chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star off the mound before pouring it on in a ninr-run sixth inning to dominate Game 1 of the World Series on Friday in Toronto.
Snell, who allowed six hits and two runs through his first three postseason starts, surrendered eight hits and five runs in the lopsided 11-4 setback at Rogers Centre.
Addison Barger hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Fellow outfielder Daulton Varsho and catcher Alejandro Kirk also homered for the Blue Jays, who logged 14 hits against just four strikeouts at the plate.
“I was choking up, just trying to put the ball in the air and get a run in,” Barger said on the Fox broadcast when asked about his historic homer.
Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage allowed four hits and two runs over four innings. The Blue Jays’ bullpen allowed two hits and two runs, while issuing eight strikeouts, over the final five.
The Blue Jays packed the base paths several times through the first three innings, but Snell escaped early trouble unscathed.
The Dodgers earned in initial lead on an RBI single from outfielder Enrique Hernandez in the top of the second. Catcher Will Smith doubled the lead with another RBI single in the third.
Varsho finally marred Snell’s night when he ripped a 423-foot, two-run homer to dead center field in the bottom of the next inning, tying the score at 2-2.
The Blue Jays once again loaded the bases on Snell in the bottom of the sixth, but this time it prompted his exit and triggered the third-highest-scoring half inning in World Series history.
Third baseman Ernie Clement gave the Blue Jays their first lead two pitches later when he smacked an RBI single off Dodgers relief pitcher Emmet Sheehan. A bases-loaded Sheehan walk made the score 4-2 before shortstop Andres Gimenez pushed the advantage to three with an RBI single to right field.
Just two at-bats later, Barger blistered a 2-1 slider from relief pitcher Anthony Banda over the center field fence for his historic, 413-foot grand slam. Kirk pushed the Blue Jays lead to nine with a 403-foot, two-run shot to center for the final runs of the inning.
Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani walloped a 357-foot, two-run homer in the next inning to cut into the deficit, but the Dodgers didn’t score again.
Mason Fluharty, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Chris Bassitt and Eric Lauer teamed up for the Blue Jays’ brilliant bullpen effort.
Kirk went 3 for 3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Designated hitter George Springer, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero and Clement logged two hits apiece in the win.
“That’s the epitome of our offense,” Clement said. “It’s a collective effort and everybody just doing their job.”
The first pitch for Game 2 of the 2025 World Series is scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT Saturday at Rogers Centre. Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers is expected to duel fellow right-handed starter Kevin Gausman. The series will shift to Los Angeles on Monday for Game 3.