What a start to the 2025 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays came out swinging in Game 1, riding a nine-run sixth inning to an 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in front of a roaring crowd at Rogers Centre — the first World Series game in Toronto since 1993.
It was the highest-scoring inning in Jays postseason history — and featured the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, thanks to Addison Barger.
We have you covered with all the action from the first game of the Fall Classic in Toronto, from in-game analysis to takeaways after the final pitch.
Key links: Mega-preview, predictions | Schedule
Takeaways
Toronto leads series 1-0
It was over when …: Addison Barger stepped into the on-deck circle to hit for Davis Schneider in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Blue Jays had already scored three runs to snap a 2-2 tie. Then came the iconic moment of an all-time inning: Barger hammered an Anthony Banda slider out to center field, the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Toronto would add another pair of runs for nine total, the third-most runs in any World Series inning and the most since 1968. Rogers Centre shook — and the Dodgers, prohibitive favorites entering the series, are shaken. — Jeff Passan
Game 1 hero: Barger gets all the glory, but Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk had a great World Series opener of his own. He worked a nine-pitch walk in the first inning, laced a single on the eighth pitch his second time up, punched a single to right during the fateful sixth and came up again that inning and launched a two-run homer. Beyond his offensive bonafides, Kirk called a tremendous game that kept the Dodgers’ offense off-balance all night. — Passan
The stat that defined the game: Before Toronto did so on Friday night, the last team to score 9 runs in a World Series inning was the Detroit Tigers, who scored 10 in the 3rd inning of Game 6 in 1968 at the Cardinals. — ESPN Research
What’s next for the Blue Jays: They’ll give the ball to Kevin Gausman, their best starter, in Game 2. The 34-year-old right-hander has a 2.00 ERA across 18 innings in the postseason. His last outing — a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in Game 7 of the ALCS — was his first relief appearance since the 2021 postseason. Gausman has logged 5⅔ innings in each of his three starts in these playoffs and given up one run twice and two runs once. The Blue Jays could use more length Saturday to avoid overexposing their bullpen early in the series, though Sunday’s off day gives manager John Schneider the leeway to aggressively use his best relievers. — Jorge Castillo
What’s next for the Dodgers: In hopes of earning a split on the road, the Dodgers will turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who put together a Cy Young-caliber regular season and, like Blake Snell before him, has been at his best in October — for Game 2. They should feel really good about that. But the formula is the same — they need Yamamoto to pitch deep into the game so that manager Dave Roberts doesn’t have to dig too deep into his beleaguered bullpen, which has become even more shorthanded with Alex Vesia’s absence. The one benefit of a blowout loss is that Roki Sasaki and Blake Treinen were not used, setting them up to contribute multiple innings in Game 2 — with an off day to follow. — Alden Gonzalez
