Dodgers seal back-to-back World Series titles

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team for 25 years to win back-to-back World Series titles, coming from behind to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 after extra innings in the deciding seventh game.

Catcher Will Smith’s home run in the top of the 11th inning broke the deadlock at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, and when Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play with the tying run on third base, it sparked wild celebrations.

The National League champions had trailed 3-0 to Bo Bichette’s three-run homer in the third inning, but kept chipping away, and solo homers by Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas levelled the game at 4-4 in the top of the ninth.

The last team to win successive ‘Fall Classics’ were the New York Yankees, who triumphed in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The series had played out against the backdrop of political and trade battles between North America’s neighbours since Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, but it was ultimately the big-spending Dodgers who prevailed against Canada’s only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise.

Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s most high-profile player, started on the mound for the Dodgers but ran into trouble in the third inning.

George Springer led off with a base hit, was bunted over to second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Vladimir Guerrero Jr was intentionally walked, and Bichette raised the roof as he launched the ball over centre field.

That was the end of Ohtani’s night as the pitcher, but under a 2022 regulation change known as the ‘Ohtani rule’, he was allowed to remain in the game as designated hitter.

The Dodgers hit straight back in the fourth, loading the bases for Teoscar Hernandez to send Smith home on a sacrifice fly for 3-1, but a superb diving catch by Guerrero at first base prevented further damage.

Tensions threatened to boil over when Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski hit Andres Gimenez with a pitch, and both benches cleared as players ran on the field to confront each other.

Toronto’s veteran starter Max Scherzer came out of the game with the lead still 3-1 in the fifth inning, and the Dodgers rallied in the sixth when Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly scored Mookie Betts to reduce the deficit to one run.

Back came the Blue Jays, when Ernie Clement’s stolen base put him in position for Gimenez to drive him in with a right-field double.

As is common in a World Series game seven, both sides made frequent pitching changes, even turning to starting pitchers from earlier in the series.

Trey Yesavage, who had started games one and five for Toronto, gave up Muncy’s solo shot in the eighth, before Rojas’ last-gasp effort off Jeff Hoffman levelled the scores.

Toronto loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but failed to conjure a run, and the Dodgers did the same in the 10th as expectation mounted, but both sides fluffed their lines.

It was only the sixth time in history that a World Series game seven had gone to extra innings, and Smith’s homer put the Dodgers within sight of the title.

The Blue Jays were tantalisingly close to taking it to a 12th inning or even winning it with a walk-off, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ winning pitcher from games two and six, picked up another win in relief and was named as the series’ Most Valuable Player.

Game 1: Blue Jays 11-4 Dodgers

Game 2: Blue Jays 1-5 Dodgers

Game 3: Dodgers 6-5 Blue Jays

Game 4: Dodgers 2-6 Blue Jays

Game 5: Dodgers 1-6 Blue Jays

Game 6: Blue Jays 1-3 Dodgers

Game 7: Blue Jays 4-5 Dodgers

Home team listed first