The Dodgers remain the reigning champs

Game seven of the 2025 World Series

Photo: The Dodgers and the Blue Jays face off in a suspenseful final game

The Dodgers and the Blue Jays face off in a suspenseful final game Photo courtesy of Vivian Lu.

Going into game seven, the pressure was on. The Blue Jays had come out strong in the beginning of the series, but the Dodgers had managed some close wins to make a comeback and drag the series into its final game. The popular vote was with the Jays, who hadn’t won a title in 32 years, but the odds leaned towards the Dodgers, whose all-star roster had been unbeatable.

The first two innings were devoid of scoring, but not for lack of effort. The Jays managed to load the bases in the second, but Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out Andres Gimenez to end the inning. In the bottom of the third inning, the 3-0 score looked pretty good for the Blue Jays following a three-run home run by shortstop Bo Bichette. 

With the bases loaded at the top of the fourth, the pressure was on, but an incredible catch by outfielder Daulton Varsho kept the Dodgers limited to one run by catcher Will Smith, keeping the Blue Jays ahead 3-1 Following in his teammates’ footsteps, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. caught a ball hit right down the line to end the top of the fourth inning. 

In an unprecedented turn of events, the benches cleared after Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski hit Blue Jay Andrés Giménez after throwing several wild balls in the bottom of the fourth. The Dodgers scored again in the sixth inning. Second baseman Tommy Edman sent a ball out into center field, giving outfielder Mookie Betts the time to score another run, closing the gap between the scores to 2-3. However, the Blue Jays didn’t let that stand for long. Giménez got his revenge against the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth, sending the ball out to right field and past the outfielders. Third baseman Ernie Clement capitalized on the opportunity, sprinting from second to home base to score the Jays’ fourth run. 

The Jays kept up their momentum in the seventh with a beautiful play. Freeman hit a line drive, which bounced and was then caught by the first baseman, who immediately turned and flung the ball to the second baseman, who tagged his base, and shot the ball right back to the first baseman to complete the double play. 

In the eighth inning, Max Muncy hit a solo home run to bring the Dodgers back from behind. An unsuccessful bottom of the eighth left the Blue Jays in the same position come the expected final inning. In the top of the ninth, Miguel Rojas fired off his first homerun of the postseason to close the gap, evening the score to 4-4. He didn’t stop there. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, he sprinted to get a ball hit to second base. Seeming at first to lose his balance, he quickly regained control and fired it off to home base, saving the Dodgers from a game-winning run. Clearly, the pressure had woken up this all-star team. In the same inning, with the bases still loaded, Andy Pages ran over left fielder Kike Hernandez to get the best angle on a catch that sent the game into extra innings.

Even under pressure, the Jays' defense was ironclad. The tenth inning featured two notable plays. With the bases loaded yet again, Mookie Betts hit a ball down the middle of the infield, which was fielded and thrown to home by Gimenez, getting Betts out in a play mirroring that of Rojas in the ninth. Then, a hit by Kike Hernandez was fielded by the first baseman and thrown to first base, where the pitcher was waiting to get the out. The Jays had a real chance at winning the game, but the Dodgers had an ace, an ace named Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Coming off of no rest, as he’d been the starting pitcher the night before, Yamamoto pitched a three-batter inning and kept the Jays at bay for one more inning, saving the Dodgers yet again.

After facing Rojas and Ohtani as the first two hitters of the 11th inning and preventing hits from both, pitcher Shane Bieber probably thought he was in the clear. He was wrong. With two outs, catcher Will Smith hit a stunning homer to left field to put the Dodgers up. 

The 11th inning was the undoing of the Blue Jays. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on second, Blue Jay Isiah Kiner-Falefa made a sacrifice bunt to advance Guerrero to third, and Addison Barger walked to put a runner on first. Alejandro Kirk went up against Yamamoto with only one out, but with a hit that bounced out to the infield, the Dodgers turned a double play to end the game with a final score of 5-4.

Despite the Jays’ loss, the game was still fulfilling. Today, it’s rare to see two teams so closely matched, and this was one of the most suspenseful World Series in years. Whether people were watching because they love the Blue Jays or hate the Dodgers, it was a memorable night.