The Road to Glory: The Story of the 2025 World Series
- Mayline Ruiz
- 2 hours ago
- 11 min read
The MLB World Series is one of the biggest events of the year. Last year’s World Series was filled with big names ranging from Aaron Judge to Shohei Ohtani to the underdogs like Tommy Edman.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the reigning champions of the 2024 World Series. During this postseason, many Dodgers fans weren’t sure how far they would get. They came into the postseason as a wild card team, where they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 2-0. The Dodgers then went on to face the Philadelphia Phillies, where the Dodgers took the Division Series 3-1. Once they advanced to the National Championship Series, they faced the Milwaukee Brewers, where the Dodgers swept them 4-0.
The Toronto Blue Jays had their work cut out for them. The Blue Jays' start to the postseason began against the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, where the Blue Jays won 3-1. Toronto then went on to face the Seattle Mariners, a team a lot of people were rooting for as they had never made it to the World Series. However, the Blue Jays forced a Game 7 after falling behind 2-0 in the series, where they ultimately advanced.
This year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are facing the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that hasn’t made it to the big stage in 32 years. Let’s take a look back at how these teams have matched up and how the Dodgers were able to win it all.
Game One
With Blake Snell on the mound, the Dodgers were confident that he would eat up a lot of innings and keep the lead down. Snell ended up pitching five innings, where he got eight hits, five runs, and only four strikeouts.
For the Blue Jays, Trey Yesavage was the starting pitcher who was Toronto’s rookie. Yesavage pitched in four innings, where he got four hits, two runs, and five strikeouts.
In the second inning, Enrique Hernandez hit a single, which allowed Teoscar Hernandez to score, bringing the game to 1-0. In the third, Will Smith singled, which brought Mookie Betts to score. The Blue Jays responded immediately, and in the fourth, Daulton Varsho hit a two-run home run, tying the game 2-2.
It wasn’t until the sixth inning that Ernie Clement hit a single, bringing Isiah Kiner-Falefa in. In that same inning, Nathan Lukes walked with the bases loaded, which allowed Alejandro Kirk to score. Andrés Giménez then hit a single, bringing Varsho in. The game suddenly became out of reach as Addison Barger pinch-hit in the game and hit a grand slam, making the game 9-2. If that wasn’t enough runs, Kirk then hit a two-run home run, making the game 11-2. In the seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run, and the game ended 11-4, giving the Blue Jays the first win of the series.
Game Two
With the Dodgers behind 1-0, they needed one of their aces on the mound, known as Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto played a complete game, making it his second complete game during the postseason since he played the Brewers in the NLCS in Game 2. Yamamoto pitched in nine innings, only allowing four hits, one run, and eight strikeouts.
Kevin Gausman, who last played against the Seattle Mariners for one inning, was going to go up against the Dodgers. Gausman, who is in his 12th season, was going to make his seventh start. Gausman went for 6.2 innings, with only four hits, 3 runs, and six strikeouts.
The Dodgers opened up the running in the first when Smith hit a single, allowing Freeman to score. The Blue Jays got their one and only run in the third when Kirk hit a sacrifice fly and brought George Springer in. In the seventh inning, both Smith and Max Muncy hit a home run, making the game 3-1. During the eighth inning, the Blue Jays brought in relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman. One of his wild pitches brought Andy Pages in. The last run of the game happened in the eighth when Smith grounded out, and Ohtani managed to score, and the Blue Jays were able to get Freeman out at second.
Game Two ended with the Dodgers tying the series up 1-1, but the biggest story of this game was Yamamoto’s elite pitching performance.
Game Three
If there is one game you need to know about, Game Three is it. Not only would this game decide who was going to take a 2-1 lead, but it also became one of the longest baseball games in postseason history, with 18 innings.
In Game Three, the Dodgers decided to put Tyler Glasnow on the mound. Glasnow, who has spent some of his career injured, has been dominant in the postseason. In his matchup against Toronto, Glasnow pitched 4.2 innings, getting five hits, four runs, and five strikeouts.
For Toronto, Max Scherzer was going to get his second start of this postseason. Scherzer has been a big name during the World Series, as he’s competing against future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who announced his retirement at the end of this season. Scherzer showed that at 41, he’s still got it. During his performance, Scherzer pitched in 4.1 innings, with only five hits allowed, three runs scored, and three strikeouts.
Just like the past two games, the Dodgers opened up the scoring again with a home run from Teoscar Hernandez. Ohtani then hit a home run in the third, making it 2-0. In the fourth inning, Toronto took the lead with a three-run home run from Kirk. Giménez then hit a sacrifice fly, bringing Barger in. The Dodgers ended up bringing the game closer, 4-3, with a double from Ohtani, giving Enrique Hernandez enough time to score. It only took Freeman a single to bring in Ohtani and tie the game 4-4.
In the seventh inning, Bo Bichette hit a single, which brought Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in, giving the Blue Jays the lead once again. The lead didn’t last very long as Ohtani hit a home run, and the game was once again tied. The seventh inning was the last time anyone scored.
Both Toronto and Los Angeles used all of their pitchers. Some of the pitchers Toronto used were Mason Fluharty, Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez, Chris Bassitt, Hoffman, Braydon Fisher, Eric Lauer, and Brendon Little. The Dodgers used Anthony Banda, Justin Wrobleski, Blake Treinen, Jack Dryer, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Clayton Kershaw, Edgargo Henriquez, and Will Klein.
In the 18th inning, Freeman, who had come in clutch in previous moments in the postseason, such as his walkoff grand slam against the Yankees, hit a walkoff home run off of Little. This win gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Game 3 lasted six hours and 39 minutes, and their turnaround time for Game 4 was insane.
Game Four
While Game Four didn’t last nearly as long as Game Three, Game Four truly displayed one of the Dodgers’ weaknesses, which were their bullpen and their lack of offensive production. In Game 4, Ohtani was set to take the mound. Following his previous pitching performance, people were ecstatic to see how he would pitch and produce runs since his last start, where he struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs.
Ohtani managed to pitch six innings, which was what the Dodgers needed. There were six hits allowed, four runs scored, with six strikeouts.
On the other side, Shane Bieber, an Orange County native, was pitching. Bieber had previously pitched for the Cleveland Guardians but was traded to the Blue Jays for pitching prospect Khal Stephen. Bieber pitched for 5.1 innings, getting four hits, one run scored, and three strikeouts.
In the second inning, Enrique Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly, which allowed Muncy to score. The lead didn’t last until Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run, giving the Blue Jays the lead, 2-1. Toronto extended its lead in the seventh with a single from Gimenez, which brought Varsho in to score. With Clement on third base, Ty Franco grounded out to second, but managed to bring Clement in to give the Blue Jays the 4-1 lead. The Blue Jays continued to play the long game as Bichette hit a single and brought Gimenez in. Their final run came in with a single from Barger, which gave Guerrero Jr. the chance to score.
With the Blue Jays leading 6-1, the Dodgers weren’t able to capitalize on any runs until Tommy Edman grounded out in the ninth inning, giving Teoscar the chance to score, but it wasn’t enough. The game ultimately ended up being 6-2, with Toronto tying the series up again 2-2.
Game Five
Game Five was one of the most important games, as everyone was excited to see who would be one win away from winning the World Series. In this matchup, Blake Snell was set to have his redemption following his first start in Game One.
With his second start, Snell pitched in 6.2 innings, where he got six hits, five runs, and seven strikeouts. One thing that stood out from this game was the two home runs that were given up at the start of the game. Snell gave up two home runs to Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Yesavage made his second appearance in the World Series, as well, and continued to dominate the Dodgers and shut their offense down. Yesavage pitched for seven innings, where he only one run, three hits, and 12 strikeouts.
The game became closer when Enrique hit a home run, bringing the lead down to one run in the third inning. Clement extended the lead by one run once he hit a sacrifice fly and allowed Varsho to score. In the seventh inning, the Blue Jays got hot as Henriquez threw a wild pitch and brought Barger in. Bichette then hit a single, and Guerrero Jr., who was in third, scored. The last run was scored in the eighth inning as Kiner-Falefa hit a single and Clement scored, making the game 6-1.
The Dodgers' offense has continued to sputter and hasn’t come through in key situations. This has allowed the Blue Jays to take the lead, and they’re within one win of bringing Toronto a championship.
Game Six
Heading into Game Six, there was a lot of tension. The Dodgers couldn't afford to make any mistakes, knowing that one bad error would send them home. With that being said, they decided to put in their ace, Yamamoto.
Yamamoto went six innings, showing absolute dominance. He only got five hits, allowing zero runs, with six strikeouts. This was exactly what the Dodgers needed as they couldn't score many runs.
On the Blue Jays' side, they brought in their veteran Gausman. Gausman also went six innings, where the three hits he got were three runs scored, with eight strikeouts. The Dodgers were able to bring in some runs, but after Gausman exited the mound, the Blue Jays' bullpen didn't allow the Dodgers to score any more runs.
During the third inning, Edman and Ohtani were on base. With a double from Smith, it allowed Edman to score and advanced Ohtani to third, bringing the lead to the Dodgers. Betts, who had a .138 SLG and .424 OPS, hadn't been able to score much during the World Series. However, in the third, he hit a single, bringing in Ohtani and Smith. Had Betts not gotten that clutch hit, the game could've been a tied game as Springer hit a single and brought Barger in.
A controversial call that caused an uproar was during the ninth inning when Barger got a hit the wedged the ball at the bottom of the ball toward left-center field. Justin Dean, the center fielder for the Dodgers, and Enrique raised their arms to alert the umpires of the situation, urging for a dead ball. If a ball is ruled as a dead ball, it means that the baserunners are stopped from scoring, and in this situation, they ruled it a dead ball and it became a double.
This resulted in the Blue Jays not scoring and forced a Game Seven to see who would take the championship home.
Game Seven
Game Seven had anything you could've wanted; in fact, it was cinematic. A player who has been named as the greatest of all time, Ohtani, and an absolute menace on the field, Scherzer, were set to face off in Game Seven.
As Ohtani stepped foot on the mound, he pitched for only 2.2 innings as he got one hit, zero runs scored, and one strikeout. It was critical that these pitchers were getting switched out because no team could afford to make a mistake. It was go big or go home because there was no tomorrow.
Scherzer, who became the oldest pitcher in a Game Seven World Series, also took the mound for 4.1 innings, where there were only four hits and one run scored, and he managed to strike out three batters.
Dodgers fans became nervous immediately when Bichette hit a three-run home run, making the game feel out of reach. The Dodgers continued to chip away by trying to get on base, and during the fourth, Teoscar hit a sacrifice fly, bringing Smith in to give the Dodgers their first run.
Both teams had managed to get on base, but they weren't able to score any more runs, and suddenly it became a perfect game for pitching enthusiasts. In the sixth inning, Edman also hit a sacrifice fly to bring Betts in, making the game 3-2. Also in the sixth inning, Giménez hit a double, which brought in Clement, who made history by getting his 30th hit during the postseason.
With it being the eighth inning and the Dodgers being down 4-3, Dodgers fans were losing hope. It wasn't until Muncy hit a home run, making it a one-run game once again. In the ninth, there were no more second chances. The Dodgers needed to bring a run in, or they would be going home without a trophy. Miguel Rojas, who was just trying to get a hit, got a home run and tied the game 4-4.
Blue Jays' fans were terrified about what would happen. They were shocked as Toronto was leading 3-0 and blew the lead. Their only hope would be the bottom of the ninth, where they hoped there would be a walk-off.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers had put Snell on the mound, but there were two runners on base, which led Dave Roberts to bring in Yamamoto. Yamamoto, who had pitched the night before, made it clear that he would be available to pitch.
Once Yamamoto went in, he put Kirk on base due to a hit by pitch, loading the bases. Rojas, who had a huge play in the ninth, got a groundout from Varsho, and he threw it to home for an out. Clement then got a hit to left-center, and both Enrique and Pages ran for the ball, which caused a collision and took the game into extra innings.
Finally, in the eleventh inning, Smith hit a home run, and the Dodgers took the lead for the first time. All of Toronto went silent, knowing that they had to get a run. Toronto managed to get players on base with Barger on first due to a walk. They then had two players on the corner with only one out. Kirk, who was up to bat, hit a ground ball, and Mookie got the second out by stepping on second base and throwing to first to get the last out.
The Dodgers officially won the 2025 World Series Championship and have started a dynasty. The streets of Los Angeles roared and will get to have their parade for a second year. The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series Champions after 25 years since the Yankees in 1998-2000.
What do you think? Did you think the Dodgers were going to win it all? Let me know what you think!
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