World Series: Blue Jays punch first, score 9-runs in the sixth to take 1-0 lead over the Dodgers

So much for the Dodgers rolling through the World Series without breaking a sweat. The Toronto Blue Jays came out swinging in Game 1 and left no doubt about who wanted it more. An 11-4 win at Rogers Centre set the tone right out of the gate and showed the Dodgers that this series might not be the cakewalk everyone expected.

Blake Snell entered the night looking untouchable. He had been dealing all postseason, tossing 21 innings with just two earned runs allowed and 28 strikeouts. But the Blue Jays aren’t like the lineups he’s faced before. They feast on lefties, and they made sure Snell remembered that the second he stepped on the mound.

The first blow came in the fourth inning when Daulton Varsho jumped all over a first-pitch fastball and absolutely crushed it. That shot woke up the Rogers Centre crowd and cracked the Dodgers’ early confidence.

Blue Jays tie it in the 4th

DAULTON VARSHO TIES UP #WORLDSERIES GAME 1! pic.twitter.com/VncyZk97ed

— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2025

Things completely unraveled for Los Angeles in the sixth. The bullpen was a disaster. Joe Sheehan and Anthony Banda couldn’t stop the bleeding, and Toronto’s lineup started teeing off like it was batting practice.

Enter Addison Barger. The 24-year-old pinch-hitter stepped in and delivered a moment that will be remembered forever in Toronto. One violent swing, one baseball crushed into the night, and suddenly it was a grand slam that blew the game wide open.

It was the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, and it turned Barger into an instant postseason legend.

Addison Barger Pinch-Hit Grand Slam

Addison Barger just hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. pic.twitter.com/WUU1u3E7wC

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 25, 2025

That was only part of the damage. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dropped in a bloop single, Alejandro Kirk followed with a two-run homer, and just like that, the Jays had scored nine runs in the sixth inning.

It was the most runs by a team in a World Series inning since 1968.

The Dodgers looked stunned. The same team that embarrassed the Brewers in the NLCS suddenly had no answers. Toronto’s 14 hits in Game 1 matched Milwaukee’s total for the entire last series, and every single hitter in that lineup looked locked in.

Give some love to Jays starter Trey Yesavage while we’re at it. His line won’t jump off the page, but he did his job. Four innings, two runs, and just enough stability to keep Toronto within striking distance until the offense exploded.

The Dodgers will regroup and still have the arms to bounce back after Toronto just punched them in the mouth in Game 1.

Statement win for the Blue Jays.

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