Dodgers defend championship amid controversial win over Blue Jays

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TORONTO — The Los Angeles Dodgers captured their second straight World Series title Saturday night, edging the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings at Rogers Centre. The victory made them the first club to repeat as champions since the 2000 New York Yankees.

The decisive Game 7 was filled with controversy, momentum swings and clutch performances that will be talked about for years. Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas turned into an unexpected hero, tying the game with a ninth-inning home run before making a defensive play that helped preserve the Dodgers’ championship.

Shohei Ohtani fuels controversy

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took a bold gamble by starting Shohei Ohtani on just three days’ rest. The move quickly backfired as the two-way star struggled with his command.

Ohtani, 31, threw 42 pitches across two innings and battled wildness from the start. After loading the bases in the second, he escaped with a strikeout of Andres Gimenez on a 99-mph fastball. But his control unraveled in the third.

Bo Bichette crushed the first pitch of the inning, a hanging slider, 443 feet to center for a three-run homer, giving Toronto a 3-0 lead. Roberts removed Ohtani after just 2⅓ innings, though the slugger stayed in the game as the designated hitter.

During the broadcast, former Braves pitcher John Smoltz questioned the amount of time Ohtani took between innings.

“I think he’s taking advantage of it, though, Mark,” Smoltz said to umpire Mark Carlson on air. “I mean, obviously this is not the National League rules. I mean, I get it, he wasn’t running the bases, but is there a point where you think he might be taking advantage of it?”

Carlson explained that Ohtani received extra leeway due to his two-way status and the special nature of the World Series.

Benches-clearing flare in winner-take-all clash

Tension reached a boiling point in the fourth inning when Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski hit Gimenez with a pitch. The Toronto shortstop glared at the mound and exchanged words, prompting benches and bullpens to clear.

Players and coaches from both sides stormed the field. Even relievers sprinted in from the outfield to join the commotion. Toronto manager John Schneider led his team’s charge toward the Dodgers dugout as tempers flared.

No punches were thrown, and order was eventually restored. Umpires issued warnings to both sides as the sold-out crowd roared through the chaos.

Blue Jays defense keeps them in position

Toronto’s defense shined all night, keeping the Dodgers’ offense from breaking through. In the fourth, Daulton Varsho made a full-extension diving catch on a Teoscar Hernandez liner with a .660 expected batting average, robbing Los Angeles of at least two runs.

Moments later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a diving stop of a Tommy Edman line drive over first base to end the inning.

In the seventh, Guerrero turned a flawless 3-6-3 double play off Freddie Freeman’s chopper, then pumped his fists as the Rogers Centre crowd erupted.

Dodgers mount late comeback

The Blue Jays held a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning, but Toronto manager John Schneider’s decision to stick with rookie Trey Yesavage rather than closer Jeff Hoffman changed everything. Max Muncy crushed a solo home run to right field to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Hoffman, who had given up just one run in 11 postseason innings, finally entered in the ninth. But Rojas, who wasn’t in the starting lineup until Game 6, connected for a stunning game-tying home run. The blast from the No. 9 hitter silenced the crowd and forced extra innings.

“Baseball is the best,” one reporter wrote, describing Rojas’ improbable heroics.

Wildest back-to-back outs in World Series history

The bottom of the ninth delivered two unforgettable defensive plays. With runners on and the game tied, Rojas fielded a grounder while stumbling and fired home for a force out. Pinch-runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa was called out by a fraction of an inch.

Moments later, Andy Pages and Enrique Hernandez collided at the outfield wall, but Pages held on for the third out to end the inning.

In the 10th, the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, only for Toronto’s Seranthony Dominguez to escape with consecutive force plays at home and first.

Will Smith delivers championship blow

The drama peaked in the 11th. With two outs, Will Smith crushed a home run to left field off Shane Bieber, giving Los Angeles a 5-4 lead. The clutch blast instantly etched Smith’s name into World Series lore.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had thrown 96 pitches in Game 6, returned in relief to finish the job. On his 130th pitch across two nights, the World Series MVP induced Alejandro Kirk to roll into a double play, sealing the Dodgers’ championship.

Controversy from Game 6 lingers

The tension of Game 7 carried over from the previous night’s disputed call. In the ninth inning of Game 6, with the Dodgers ahead 3-1, Toronto’s Addison Barger ripped a line drive that got wedged under the outfield wall padding.

Dodgers center fielder Justin Dean immediately raised his hands to signal a dead ball. Umpires ruled it a ground-rule double, preventing a runner from scoring and potentially changing the outcome.

“The fact this is ruled a ‘lodged ball’ but then the CF has no problem picking it up and throwing it in is dumb. He didn’t even make an effort to grab it right away. Blue Jays might have gotten screwed,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s JD Andress.

The decision placed runners on second and third instead of allowing them to score. Tyler Glasnow closed the game, forcing a decisive Game 7.

As Sporting News’ Hunter Cookston noted, “That lodged-ball call could become the Blue Jays’ worst nightmare if the Dodgers go on to win the World Series.”

Historic achievement for Dodgers

The Dodgers’ victory capped an extraordinary postseason filled with adversity and late-game drama. Los Angeles became just the eighth franchise in history to win back-to-back World Series titles.

Yamamoto, who posted three wins in the series, earned World Series MVP honors. Rojas joined Dodgers legends Johnny Podres, Sandy Koufax, Orel Hershiser, and Kirk Gibson with his unforgettable Game 7 performance.

For the Blue Jays, the loss marked their second consecutive World Series Game 7 defeat at home. Toronto has not captured a championship since Joe Carter’s iconic walk-off homer in 1993.

The defeat was especially painful because Toronto statistically outperformed the Dodgers throughout the series. The Blue Jays scored more total runs and outhit Los Angeles in several games, including Game 6, but could not overcome Hoffman’s first blown save of the postseason.

Infielder Ernie Clement, who once called himself “the worst hitter in baseball,” set a postseason record with 30 hits, yet it wasn’t enough to end the team’s 32-year drought.

The 2025 World Series will go down as one of baseball’s all-time classics — complete with an 18-inning marathon, controversial calls, and an extra-inning Game 7 finale. The Dodgers defended their crown amid chaos, but questions about the umpiring and fairness will linger well beyond the celebration.

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