In the event you’re a baseball fan — and presumably most individuals studying this are — Recreation 7 of the 2025 World Collection was like the most effective buffet you’ve ever been to. There have been no lodge pans filled with lukewarm highlights sitting atop Sterno cans. This one had dramatic dwelling runs, loopy defensive performs, a sequence of beginning pitcher aid cameos, and even some questionable baserunning for taste. Even Will Smith’s Eleventh-inning dwelling run, which was the eventual distinction, may need solely been the fifth-most thrilling second in among the finest World Collection video games I’ve seen in my close to half-century of existence.
We actually began off with an entertaining matchup of beginning pitchers. For the Dodgers, we acquired Shohei Ohtani, the participant who has outlined the 2020s. Whereas Tyler Glasnow’s three-pitch save in Recreation 6 didn’t disqualify him — he appeared later on this sport — Ohtani is difficult to make use of as a aid possibility for the reason that Ohtani DH rule solely works when he’s beginning. On the opposite aspect, Max Scherzer acquired the beginning for the Blue Jays, and whereas the longer term Corridor of Famer is nearing the tip of his profession and is now not an ace, I wouldn’t dare get between Mad Max and a Recreation 7.
Ohtani began issues off within the first with a liner to heart, advancing to second on a Smith grounder after a terrific diving play by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to stop the Dodgers from getting two on with nobody out. Ohtani then superior to 3rd on a Freddie Freeman fly out, however he was stranded after a Mookie Betts groundout to Andrés Giménez.
The Blue Jays adopted the highest of the inning with a fast menace of their very own. George Springer, persevering with to play by way of a painful indirect damage, singled on a 99-mph fastball, however Ohtani recovered to strike out Nathan Lukes and Guerrero. The latter strikeout got here amidst a somewhat odd sequence that noticed Springer working on the 3-2 pitch to Vlad earlier than seemingly pulling up when he was 60% of the best way to second. I’m undecided if it was a blown hit-and-run (which might itself be odd to name given Springer’s compromised state), or if Springer believed Guerrero had drawn a stroll, or if he merely thought there have been two outs as an alternative of 1. Regardless of the motive, Springer was tagged out to finish the inning on what was formally referred to as a caught stealing:
Regardless of happening three days’ relaxation, Ohtani threw his heater a tick tougher than he had in his final begin (98.9 mph vs. 97.5 mph). He got here in throwing a whole lot of fastballs and fewer secondary choices than regular, and continued to take action with runners on base.
Scherzer pitched two clear, environment friendly innings within the second and third, solely throwing one first-pitch ball, a fastball inside to Tommy Edman. He wanted simply 18 pitches to get by way of these two frames, and didn’t enable any hits. It was as near classic Scherzer as he comes nowadays, however it nonetheless wasn’t the Scherzer of outdated. Whereas he didn’t enable a baserunner, he wasn’t lacking bats anyplace close to in addition to at his peak, and the Dodgers had been hardly ever really fooled by even his slider. Scherzer allowed eight ball hit into play with a triple digit exit velocity, so this was much less domination than it was moxie or veteran grit or no matter different superlative usually will get you rolling your eyes.
Ohtani, however, had a a lot rougher time of it. He walked Bo Bichette on 5 pitches to guide off the second, then gave up a single to Addison Barger after the correct fielder labored a full rely. After getting Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho to pop and fly out, Ernie Clement, now the record-holder for essentially the most hits in a postseason, loaded the bases with a two-out single. A Giménez strikeout allowed Ohtani to flee the inning, however there can be no escape within the third.
Springer began issues off together with his second single of the sport, advancing to second on a Lukes sacrifice bunt and to 3rd on a wild pitch. Guerrero was deliberately walked after the wild pitch, a selection the Dodgers possible instantly regretted when Bichette, taking part in on a sprained PCL, blasted a three-run no-doubter to present the Blue Jays the lead:
Ohtani wasn’t particularly wild, however his location was much less sharp than standard to my eye (I made a word of this even earlier than the Bichette at-bat), and the slider that Bichette crushed struck me as an objectively dangerous pitch. That was it for Ohtani, with Justin Wrobleski ending off the body.
Scherzer bumped into critical hassle to begin the fourth, permitting a double to Smith and a single to Freeman with no outs. After a Betts fly out, Max Muncy walked, which arrange a Teoscar Hernández sac fly that scored Smith, a play which will have ended up fairly notably worse for the Jays if not for a Varsho diving catch. To not be outdone by his Gold Glove-winning teammate, Guerrero made his second terrific defensive play of the sport, making a diving seize of an Edman liner for the ultimate out. The Dodgers did get a run, however given their shocking offensive points through the sequence, failing to do extra injury after loading the bases with one out was an actual disappointment:
With one out within the backside of the fourth, Wrobleski nearly hit Giménez, although the latter appeared to virtually put his hand within the path of the pitch. Phrases had been exchanged between the 2 when Giménez really was hit by the following pitch, sending each benches and bullpens onto the sector. However fisticuffs didn’t ensue, and order was restored comparatively shortly.
After a one-out single within the fifth to Miguel Rojas, Scherzer’s night time ended, with Louis Varland coming in to face Ohtani. Ohtani singled Rojas into scoring place, however Varland acquired the ultimate two outs to stop any insurance coverage runs. Glasnow began the sixth for Los Angeles; Toronto solely acquired a two-out single from Kirk, which got here to naught.
Chris Bassitt got here in for the sixth because the Dodgers once more chipped away at Toronto’s lead. Betts drew a leadoff stroll, then Muncy acquired his first hit of the sport. Betts superior on a grounder to Bassitt, and Edman acquired the Dodgers their second run with a sacrifice fly. Enrique Hernández saved the rally alive with one other single, however Rojas grounded out to finish the menace; one run was all they’d get.
The Blue Jays acquired that run again of their half of the inning on a single by Clement after which a gapper double from Giménez to deliver him in. Glasnow acquired Springer swinging by way of a 97 mph fastball to set him down, then retired Lukes and Guerrero to restrict Toronto to only the one run.
Trey Yesavage, happening simply two days’ relaxation after his beautiful 12-strikeout efficiency in Recreation 5, was introduced in for the seventh. Dealing with the guts of the Los Angeles order, Yesavage pitched very rigorously, largely nibbling the sides with sliders and splitters, and after a leadoff stroll to Ohtani, a Smith flyout and a Freeman double play put the Blue Jays simply six outs from their first championship in additional than three many years. Emmet Sheehan got here in and was efficient, hanging out Bichette and Varsho, together with his solely ding a fastball that Kirk took the opposite manner into proper for a single.
Yesavage was again out for the eighth. He acquired Betts to floor out earlier than Muncy casually swatted a splitter that didn’t cut up off the correct subject stands to once more make it a one-run sport. After a Teoscar Hernández groundout, Toronto introduced in nearer Jeff Hoffman to attempt to get the ultimate 4 outs. He acquired the primary one, retiring Edman on a routine grounder to second.
Sheehan got here out for his second inning of labor, however one other Clement hit, this time a double off a excessive fastball (this was the hit that set the postseason file) resulted within the Dodgers utilizing the third member of their postseason rotation, Blake Snell, to complete off the eighth. Snell managed to take action with out incident, punching out each Springer and Davis Schneider (pinch-hitting for Lukes) on breaking pitches; the stranded runner would loom giant.
Within the ninth, Enrique Hernández was unable to supply any of his standard October heroics, with Hoffman hanging him out reaching for a slider. Subsequent up was Rojas, who acquired his final hit earlier than Saturday on October 1, through the Wild Card sequence towards the Reds. However his second hit of the night time got here at simply the correct time, as he had what was possible the most important second of his profession, lining a dangling Hoffman slider over the left subject wall to tie the sport:
In an age with what looks like a billion postseason video games yearly, it’s exhausting for particular person moments to face out, however I feel the Rojas dwelling run is one which ought to stay. Regardless that the sport was typically fairly shut, you could possibly inform that the group tasted that championship, and was trying previous Rojas to Ohtani on deck as the ultimate boss. About one second into the ball’s flight, you could possibly hear the crowds’ cheers flip right into a near-unanimous groan. The change within the win expectancy graph was dramatic sufficient, but when we had a solution to chart vibes, those in Rogers Centre would have resulted in a vertical line by way of the ground. Rojas turned the 2025 World Collection round, and it’s a second as hanging as Carlton Fisk prepared a homer to remain honest in 1975 by way of the ability of fervent gesticulation, or Kirk Gibson pumping his arm throughout his dwelling run trot taken on two dangerous legs in 1988. And it’s a pitch that, 30 years from now, Hoffman will nonetheless desperately want to have again.
Hoffman managed to stop any extra injury, and acquired the job achieved towards two significantly higher hitters, Ohtani and Smith, however the champagne and cigars had been placed on maintain.
Snell returned within the backside of the ninth, and after a Guerrero fly out, Bichette acquired issues going with a single to left. Isiah Kiner-Falefa got here in to pinch-run. Snell walked Barger, and in got here the fourth and last beginning pitcher for the Dodgers in Recreation 7, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, after throwing six innings and 96 pitches the night time earlier than.
Yamamoto hit Kirk within the hand together with his second pitch, loading the bases with one out. With a protracted fly ball dropping the sport, Andy Pages and his very robust arm (98th-percentile arm power in 2025) changed Edman in heart. Sadly for Blue Jays followers, there was one other baserunning blunder, this one much more consequential than the incident within the first. Kiner-Falefa was extraordinarily conservative together with his lead off the third base bag, which proved disastrous when Varsho hit a tough grounder to Rojas at second:
So. Are we prepared to speak about this lead?
— Alex Stumpf (@alexjstumpf.bsky.social) 2025-11-02T04:23:14.337Z
Rojas stumbled barely earlier than his throw to the plate, and Smith was simply barely capable of get his foot down forward of IKF to get the power out at dwelling. It appeared like we’d get our first World Collection championship walk-off replay overview, however the out name was confirmed. Had Kiner-Falefa been tiny bit much less passive (or had opted to run by way of the bottom, or not less than slid head-first), the sport would have been over.
The selection of placing Pages in heart turned out to be prescient one pitch later, as he grabbed a really deep fly hit by Clement, one which he noticed extra clearly than Enrique Hernández in left. Sadly for Hernández, Pages virtually flattened him like a cartoon steamroller, however Kiké was capable of stand up shortly and run off the sector.
Seranthony Domínguez acquired the ball for the Jays within the tenth, and after Freeman flied out, the Dodgers loaded the bases after a Betts stroll, a Muncy single, after which one other stroll, this one to Teoscar Hernández. In what was virtually a rerun of the prior inning, Pages hit a tough grounder, and Giménez acquired the power on the plate to maintain the sport tied. Enrique Hernández grounded out to finish the inning after Domínguez simply barely beat him to first on a 3-1 putout, giving the Jays their second alternative for walk-off magic.
Staying within the sport, Yamamoto acquired Giménez on a chopper to second, and after permitting Springer to get to a 3-0 rely on three pitches not even near the plate, got here again to strike him out flailing at a splitter. An unlikely Myles Straw walk-off homer didn’t happen, taking us to the Eleventh.
Shane Bieber got here in for the highest of the Eleventh, pitching on regular relaxation, and solely wanted three pitches to get Rojas and Ohtani out on grounders. Nonetheless, Smith wasn’t tempted on two low-and-outside pitches, and on a 2-0 rely, an utter catastrophe of a slider ended up within the left subject stands, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the sport. Bieber retired Freeman, however the injury was achieved:
Now, at this level, my greatest concern was that Dave Roberts would attempt to go for the lovable storybook ending, and produce out Clayton Kershaw to shut out the Jays and end his profession (the left-hander had been warming). However Roberts trusted the drained Yamamoto to proceed combating. Together with his command trying more and more spotty, Yamamoto allowed a double to Vlad on a full rely. Kiner-Falefa sacrificed bunted Guerrero to 3rd base, and Barger walked on 4 consecutive splitters. Kirk got here up with an opportunity to finish the World Collection with one swing of the bat. He did, although not in the best way Joe Carter had, hitting an 0-2 splitter from Yamamoto right into a double play.
And thus ended the 2025 season. The Dodgers are the primary group to win consecutive World Collection within the twenty first century, bolstering the group’s dynasty claims. It’s a disappointing ending for the Blue Jays, however this was nonetheless a phenomenally profitable season after they completed 2024 in final place within the AL East. Kershaw walks off into the sundown with one other ring, and will definitely be giving a speech in Cooperstown in simply over 5 years. And whereas it could be poetic for Scherzer to hitch him, he appears much more fascinated by coming again for 2026.
Was this one of many best World Collection? I personally assume so, however historical past all the time will get the ultimate phrase.