Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Highlights and Score: Toronto wins Game 1 with a 9-run inning.

Blue Jays Crush Dodgers 11–4 in Game 1: Addison Barger’s Grand Slam Leads Toronto’s 9-Run Inning at 2025 World Series

The Toronto Blue Jays’ search for a championship after 32 years of not winning one got off to a good start.

Their bats kept hot, as they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11–4 in Game 1 of the 2025 World Series. Toronto won thanks to a sixth inning in which they scored nine runs. Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam in that frame opened the game up, and Alejandro Kirk hit a two-run shot to give them some breathing room. The Blue Jays won this game easily, even though Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in the seventh inning.

Ohtani’s home run brings the Blue Jays’ lead down.

It was only a matter of time before Shohei Ohtani spoke up. In the top of the seventh, the Dodgers‘ star hit a two-run home run that brought in Tommy Edman and made the score 11-4.

Addison Barger makes this game more exciting.

Addison Barger hit a grand slam to make the score 9-2 for the Blue Jays. In the sixth inning, Toronto went to the Dodgers‘ pitching and scored three runs to make it 5–2 before Los Angeles could get an out. But then they made the game more exciting. With the bases loaded and one out, Barger came in to pinch hit for Davis Schneider. He got just enough of a breaking ball to drive it over the right field fence.

Toronto is ahead for the first time

Blake Snell left the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning before he was taken out. So Emmet Sheehan came into the game in a tough spot and gave up an RBI single to the first player he saw, Ernie Clement. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who came in as a pinch runner for Bo Bichette, scored on Clement’s hit to center field.

After Sheehan walked Nathan Lukes, Toronto made it 4-2, letting Alejandro Kirk score. The Blue Jays’ lead grew to three runs when Andres Gimenez’s single brought in Daulton Varsho.

• The Blue Jays knot it up.

Daulton Varsho blasted the first home run of the Fall Classic, sending a fastball right to center field. Varsho’s third home run of the playoffs brought in Alejandro Kirk, who had gotten on base with a single to right field, and tied the game at two.

• Betts gets a second one

Mookie Betts scored the Dodgers‘ second run of the 2025 World Series because of smart baseball. First, Betts went to first base by walking. He moved up to second base when Freddie Freeman walked. And he easily scored from second base on a single by Will Smith.

• The Dodgers score first

Enrique Hernandez kept up his clutch playoff play by scoring the Dodgers‘ first run in the 2025 World Series. Teoscar Hernandez took Will Smith’s spot as the first baserunner for Los Angeles in the 2025 World Series because of a fielder’s choice. Hernandez then scored the opening run of the Fall Classic. He moved up to second base on a single from Max Muncy and scored on a single from Enrique Hernandez. This gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers get out of a jam with the bases loaded.

Blake Snell, the Dodgers‘ starting pitcher, got into trouble after getting the first two Blue Jays’ batters out. The bases were loaded with two outs. But he got Daulton Varsho to fly out to center field, which kept the score at zero. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the first Toronto baserunner in the 2025 World Series. He walked, but he stayed on third base.

• What day is the World Series?
• How to watch the Fall Classic between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays?
• Updated MLB postseason bracket and prediction

The Toronto Blue Jays are in the World Series for the first time since 1993.

• They are trying to win their third title in franchise history after going more than 30 years without one.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers are also in the World Series for the second year in a row. They want to win their third title in the last six years.

In the 2025 Fall Classic, one team wants to climb back to the top, while the other wants to solidify its status as the best team in the MLB and a dynasty of the 2020s. This is a great game between two expensive, star-studded teams. During the regular season, Toronto had the strongest offensive in the American League. Now, in the playoffs, the Dodgers seem to be on a mission and playing better than anybody else.

• Will the Dodgers keep winning and become the first team to win back-to-back titles in 25 years?
• Will the Blue Jays sustain the momentum from their emotional AL Championship Series, with the whole country behind them?

Expert MLB daily picks: Only at USA TODAY can you get unique MLB betting tips.

Here’s how to see the World Series, along with the full schedule, a prediction, and the postseason bracket:

The primary concern for the 2025 World Series was whether the Toronto Blue Jays’ offense would keep winning in the postseason against the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ historically strong rotation, and vice versa.

The Blue Jays won Round 1 easily, and then the Dodgers‘ bullpen got involved.

The Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 11-4 on Friday to grab a 1-0 lead in the World Series. They scored nine runs in the sixth inning. Toronto will host Game 2 on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.The Dodgers had a good reason to feel good before the game. Blake Snell, the starting pitcher, has only given up two earned runs in 21 innings over three postseason starts. He had recently pitched eight great innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. But the Blue Jays stopped that run dead in its tracks.

Snell got only 12 of the 24 hitters he faced out. He gave up 8 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, and 1 hit-by-pitch. He left the sixth inning with the bases full and no outs in a tie game. They called Emmet Sheehan in to keep the game tied. The score was still 5-2 after three batters, with no outs yet.

After that, they brought on Anthony Banda to try to keep the game tight. Addison Barger hit a grand slam, making it 9-2 after one batter. This was the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. After that, Alejandro Kirk hit another two-run home run, which made the game even more funny. The Rogers Centre audience was overjoyed since they were watching their first World Series win in 32 years and one day.

The Jays’ breakthrough at Snell’s expense gave Toronto three more runs against the Dodgers‘ rotation than the Brewers scored in the whole NLCS. It also more than made up for Trey Yesavage’s poor start. He was a rookie who was drafted last year and started the season at Low-A Dunedin. He departed the game after four innings of two-run ball, and it could have been a lot worse because his best pitch, the splitter, wasn’t functioning very well. Bo Bichette also came back after being out for more than a month with a sprained left knee. He went 1-for-2 with a walk while batting cleanup, and he left in the sixth inning for a pinch-runner. He also made a great play at second base, which was his first time there since he was in the minor leagues in 2019.

That was only the Dodgers‘ second loss in four rounds of the playoffs. It could leave a mark on you.

Can the Dodgers get back on their feet?

The Dodgers don’t need to lose the first game of the World Series. It’s equally awful to lose by seven runs. But the most worrying thing is that Sheehan and Banda are supposed to be two of L.A.’s top four relief pitchers, and Alex Vesia is probably out for the series. The other two, Blake Treinen and Roki Sasaki, have been used by the Dodgers in different ways. Treinen has been hurting stomach linings in Los Angeles all postseason, and Sasaki is a rookie who is now the team’s new closer by default.

This game was the first time this postseason that the Dodgers‘ bullpen lost, even though they had a 4.88 ERA going into Friday. For the first three rounds, the Dodgers‘ rotation was excellent enough to disguise that big problem for 10 games. Now the question is whether they’ll have to do it for four more games just to give Los Angeles a chance in this Fall Classic.

FINAL: Blue Jays 11, Dodgers 4

It’s done. Addison Barger hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, which helped the Blue Jays win Game 1 by a wide margin. After a great postseason run, Blake Snell had a lot of trouble, thus the Dodgers will now turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto to tie the series. Kevin Gausman will start for the Blue Jays in Game 2, which is set for 8 p.m. ET Saturday in Toronto.