Key events
The Blue Jays are six outs from their first World Series title in 32 years. And as you might imagine, the atmosphere all over the country is buzzing.
Dodgers 2-4 Blue Jays, end of seventh inning
Emmet Sheehan is in to pitch replacing Tyler Glasnow.
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Bo Bichette strikes out swinging to open the bottom of the seventh.
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Addison Barger grounds out to first.
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Alejandro Kirk keeps the inning alive with a sharp line drive to right.
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That brings up Daulton Varsho, who goes down swinging. We’re headed to the eighth in Toronto!
Dodgers 2-4 Blue Jays, middle of seventh inning
Game 5 hero Trey Yesavage replaces Chris Bassitt on the mound.
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Ohtani leads off the top of the seventh. He walks on five pitches.
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Will Smith comes to the plate as the tying run. He flies out to center for the first out.
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Freeman then makes contact on a 2-1 slider only to ground sharply to first. Guerrero Jr fires to the shortstop Giménez to get the force at second before Giménez fires back to first in time for an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play. Wow! The sold-out Rogers Centre crowd explodes. The Blue Jays are six out away from ending their 32-year title drought!
Dodgers 2-4 Blue Jays, end of sixth inning
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Springer makes the first out, going down swinging on a four-seam fastball.
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Lukes flies to center on an 0-1 pitch, but it’s deep enough where Giménez can tag up and take third base.
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Guerrero steps up. Will they intentionally walk him to face Bichette again? It didn’t work last time. This time they’ll pitch to him … and he grounds out harmlessly to third to end the inning.
LAD 2-4 TOR, bottom sixth
Glasnow is back out to face the 8-9-1 hitters.
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The Blue Jays again have a leadoff baserunner as Ernie Clement drives a single to left field.
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Giménez then works a 3-0 count before showing bunt for a strike. Clement then steals second base as Giménez takes strike two. Now it’s a full count for Giménez with a runner in scoring position. Giménez then rips a line drive into the right-center field gap! Clement scores and Toronto have restored their two-run lead!
Dodgers 2-3 Blue Jays, middle of sixth inning
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Kiké Hernández singles to right field. That puts the go-ahead run on first base.
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That brings up the No 9 hitter in Rojas. He works the count to 3-2, before hitting a dribbler down the first baseline. Bassitt fields it cleanly and tags Rojas out himself.
LAD 2-3 TOR, top sixth
Chris Bassitt is in to pitch, replacing Louis Varland.
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Mookie Betts walks on six pitches and the Dodgers are in business with a leadoff baserunner.
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Max Muncy the rips an 0-1 singer to right field. The Dodgers have runners on first and second with nobody out.
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Teoscar Hernández grounds to the pitcher, who gets the force at second. That brings the go-ahead runner to the plate in the Tommy Edman.
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Edman then hits a fly ball to center field. That should be long enough for Betts to tag up from third and score … and it is. A sacrifice fly from Edman cuts the Blue Jays’ lead in half!
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, end of fifth inning
Glasnow is back out to face the 4-5-6 hitters in the bottom of the fifth.
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Bichette lines out to third for the first out.
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Barger strikes out swinging on a curveball for the second out.
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Kirk bloops a single to short right-center to keep the inning alive.
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Varsho can’t keep it going, grounding out to second. We’re headed to the sixth.
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, middle of fifth inning
Louis Varland has replaced Scherzer on the mound for the Blue Jays.
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Ohtani falls behind 0-2 in the count but slaps a seeing-eye single to right field. Runners on first and second with one out.
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Smith hits a routine fly ball to center for the second out. Rojas can’t tag up.
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That leaves it to Freeman … and the first baseman flies out harmlessly to center to end the inning.
An email from reader Samuel Spencer:
The roar and cheer of Bo Bo Bo that could be heard across my beltline neighbourhood from watch parties across the city – it seems that tonight even my friends who hate baseball are loving baseball. Canada’s moment has never been so prescient, so here’s hoping
And another from Christy Goossen (with the subject line “Vladdy”):
He is definitely deserving of those diamond earrings!!
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, top of fifth inning
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Scherzer, who has thrown 47 pitches tonight, is out for the fifth inning. That’s officially surpassed expectations.
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Kiké Hernández tries to check his swing on a 2-2 curveball and the third-base umpire rules he didn’t, calling the strikeout.
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Rojas then singles to left, bringing Ohtani to the plate as the tying run. That’s going to be it for Max Scherzer, who leaves the field to a standing ovation.
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, end of fourth inning
Glasnow is in to face Guerrero Jr with two out and runners on first and second.
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, middle of fourth inning
Wrobleski returns to the hill to face Springer after a lengthy delay.
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Springer rips a come-backer to the pitcher and Wrobleski can’t handle it cleanly. What might have been a inning-ending double-play ball becomes runners on first and second with one out.
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Lukes strikes out on a slider for the second out.
And Dave Roberts is summoning Tyler Glasnow from the bullpen.
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, bottom of fourth inning
Wrobleski is back out to pitch the fourth.
Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays, middle of fourth inning
Edman comes to the plate to face Scherzer with runners on first and second and two outs.
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Edman takes a pair of balls before lining out to Guerrero Jr in foul territory. A sensational defensive play by the young slugger, who has used the World Series as a total showcase of his well-rounded game. The Blue Jays allow a run, but a pair of highlight-reel plays in the field have limited the damage!
LAD 1-3 TOR, top fourth
Scherzer back out for the top of the fourth.
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Will Smith jumps on the first pitch and rips a leadoff double to right.
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Freddie Freeman singles to right, sending Smith to third. Suddenly the tying run is at the plate with nobody out.
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Mookie Betts flies out to right, not long enough for Smith to tag out. That’s a huge out for Scherzer.
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Max Muncy then works a full count before walking on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, loading the bases for Teoscar Hernández.
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Hernández then lines to short center and Varsho fully extends for a diving catch that saves a minimum of two runs. Will Smith tags up but it could have been so much worse for the Blue Jays!
Dodgers 0-3 Blue Jays, end of third inning
Justin Wrobleski replaces Shohei Ohtani on the mound, though he will remain in the lineup as the Dodgers’ designated hitter.
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Addison Barger keeps things going with a single to center off an 0-2 curveball. Still just one out.
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Alejandro Kirk lines out to center field.
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Daulton Varsho strikes out swinging, ending the threat.
But the damage has been done!
LAD 0-3 TOR, bottom third
Ohtani back out for the top of the third. He’s taking well over his allotted warm-up time again, drawing the visible ire of Toronto manager John Schneider.
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Springer loops a single into left to lead off the third. He’s 2-for-2 tonight and 4-for-6 since coming back from injury.
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Lukes drops a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Springer to second. Ohtani’s throw is low and nearly thrown away but Freeman scoops it for the first out.
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Guerrero Jr takes a ball in a dirt that gets away from the catcher Smith and Springer moves over to third. Still just the one out. Roberts picks his poison and opts to intentionally walk Guerrero Jr.
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That brings up Bichette with runners on first and third with one out … and Bichette pounces on a first-pitch slider, sending it over the center field fence for a 442ft home run! That’s going to chase Ohtani from the game after just seven outs.
Dodgers 0-0 Blue Jays, middle of third inning
Scherzer back out for the top of the third.
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Kiké Hernández flies out to center for the first out.
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Miguel Rojas strikes out swinging on a changeup.
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Ohtani smacks a line drive all the way to the warning track in left but Nathan Lukes makes the grab on the run for a 1-2-3 inning. That’s nine consecutive batters retired for Scherzer.
An email from reader Stephen Holliday takes objection for the extra warm-up time granted to Ohtani after he took the mound late before the first inning:
You wanna open the batting and the pitching on three days rest? Good for you. But you shouldn’t get an insane amount of extra time to prep. Ridiculous.
Dodgers 0-0 Blue Jays, end of second inning
Ohtani back out for the bottom of the second.
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Bo Bichette walks on five pitches, giving Toronto a leadoff baserunner for the second time in as many innings.
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Addison Barger works the count full, then loops a broken-bat single into short right field to give the Blue Jays runners on first and second with nobody out.
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Alejandro Kirk then gives Ohtani a huge break by popping out to Freeman in foul territory.
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Daulton Versho, just 5-for-26 (.192) in the Series, steps up. He then flies out to right field, dropping to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position against the Dodgers.
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That leaves it to Ernie Clement. And the third baseman singles to short left! But Bichette’s injured knee is hampering his speed and he’ll be held at third base.
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Andrés Giménez, the No 9 hitter, steps to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Ohtani’s first pitch is a sweeper low and inside for a ball, followed by a sweeper right down the middle for 1-1. Giménez then swings and misses at a high fastball for 1-2. Giménez then fouls one off before swinging and missing on an inside fastball, allowing Ohtani to escape from the bases-loaded jam!
Dodgers 0-0 Blue Jays, middle of second inning
Scherzer back out for the top of the second.
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Max Muncy works the count to 2-2 before the third baseman goes down swinging on a slider.
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Teoscar Hernández weakly reaches at a curveball and flies out to right field for the second out.
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Edman rips a 2-0 curveball to the warning track, but Barger settles under it for the third out. Scherzer has retired six on the trot since Ohtani singled to lead off the game.
Dodgers 0-0 Blue Jays, end of first inning
A bit of confusion here. Ohtani takes the mound a bit late and has yet to throw a warm-up pitch at the time the Blue Jays are ready to bat. The home-play umpire is giving him a little extra time.
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George Springer takes three straight balls from Ohtani before taking a strike. The Toronto DH, back from an oblique injury, then rips a line drive to left field for a leadoff single. The crowd explodes.
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Nathan Lukes goes down 1-2 in the count and fights off a few more pitches before striking out swinging on a splitter.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr works the count to 3-2, then takes a 100mph fastball right down the middle for a called strikeout … before catcher Will Smith fires down to second to catch Springer stealing. The strikeout double play abruptly ends the inning. Both teams get leadoff hits in the first inning but neither can take advantage.
Dodgers 0-0 Blue Jays, middle of first inning
Scherzer takes the mound to starting things off against Ohtani.
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Ohtani takes two balls, fouls off a cutter, then singles to right-field off a changeup.
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Will Smith grounds out to first base, making the first out but moving Ohtani into scoring position.
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Freeman jumps on the first pitch and flies out to center for the second out, but Ohtani tags up and takes third.
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Betts takes a ball, then grounds out to short to roars from the Rogers Centre crowd. It’s a scoreless first inning for Scherzer.
Tonight’s lineups
We should be under way any minute now. Here’s a look at tonight’s starting lineups:
Los Angeles
Ohtani, P
W Smith, C
F Freeman, 1B
Betts, SS
Muncy, 3B
T Hernández, RF
Edman, CF
K Hernández, LF
M Rojas, 2B
Toronto
Springer, DH
Lukes, LF
Guerrero Jr, 1B
Bichette, 2B
Barger, RF
Kirk, C
Varsho, CF
Clement, 3B
Giménez, SS
It’s anthem time in Toronto. First it’s Pia Toscano, the ninth-place finisher on the 10th season of American Idol, perfoming the Star-Spangled Banner. And now out comes the giant Canadian flag. Noah Reid, of Franklin and Schitt’s Creek fame, is out to sing O Canada! and the crowd is having a good old sing-a-long. Chills!
Shohei Ohtani is doing the impossible one more time. After a month that’s already seen him break records as both slugger and ace, he’ll take the ball for the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series, facing 41-year-old Max Scherzer and a Rogers Centre crowd on full boil.
It’s only fitting that the season that began with Ohtani starting in Tokyo ends with him on the mound in Toronto, completing baseball’s first campaign to open and close outside the United States.
The two-way star has never pitched in relief in the majors, so starting was the logical play under MLB’s dual-role rule; he can keep hitting as a designated hitter even after leaving the mound. If Ohtani wins, he’ll become the first Japanese-born pitcher ever to win a Game 7 of the World Series. If he loses, he’s still the story of October.
“As far as innings, not sure,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier today when asked about his setup for Ohtani. “It depends how he comes out, how he looks, how he’s throwing, how he’s feeling. So I just kind of want to withhold kind of expectation and kind of read and react.”
He added: “As far as pitching plan, everyone’s available, and so how the game plays out, I just can’t predict. I don’t think anyone can. So we’ll see how it goes. But it starts, obviously, with the way Shohei’s throwing the baseball. And, yeah, last night we talked to him, and he said he was on board for starting. To be able to start him, it allows for us to kind of let him run as long as we can versus having him on the back end of the game.”
Max Scherzer has been here before – literally. Six years ago he dragged his ailing right arm through five innings for Washington in Houston’s hostile park and left with a ring.
Tonight the 41-year-old right-hander becomes only the fourth pitcher ever to start multiple World Series Game 7s, joining Bob Gibson, Don Larsen and Lew Burdette.
He’s faced the Dodgers 24 times in his career, more than any opponent, and comes in 5-6 with a 2.38 ERA against them. Toronto manager John Schneider calls him “the guy who’s been preparing for Game 7 since Game 3”.
Scherzer’s postseason stat sheet is a museum piece: 33rd appearance, 179 career playoff strikeouts (four shy of Andy Pettitte for fourth all-time).
The city of Toronto is buzzing with the Blue Jays one win from their third World Series title and first in 32 years. Here’s a look at how some of the home fans have gussied up for the occasion as they descend on Rogers Centre for tonight’s Game 7.
Dodgers fans in search of a good omen can look southward to Del Mar Racetrack in San Diego county, where Forever Young has just held off a formidable field to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic in a landmark moment for Japanese racing.
Our Greg Wood reports from the site:
A fantastic result for Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi, and perhaps an overdue win for Forever Young, who got the worst of the interference in the home stretch in an incredibly tight finish to last year’s Kentucky Derby.
Ryusei Sakai was sitting close behind the pace from the off and struck for home at the perfect time coming off the bend, carving out a lead that Sierra Leone and Fierceness could not close down. The same three horses as last year fill the frame in the Classic, but crucially for Japanese racing, in a different order.
Could it be an auspicious sign for another Japanese athlete looking to make his mark on the global stage just over an hour from now?
Preamble
There’s no script for nights like this. Just noise, nerves and nine innings that will live forever.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays meet one final time tonight at Rogers Centre, a Game 7 that feels destined after everything this Fall Classic has delivered – the 18-inning marathon in Los Angeles, the rope-to-second double play that sealed Game 6, and the sight of two teams still standing after six games dripping with white-knuckle tension.
Quick Guide
World Series 2025
Show
Schedule
Best-of-seven series. All times Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4).
Fri 24 Oct Game 1: Toronto Blue Jays 11, LA Dodgers 4
Sat 25 Oct Game 2: LA Dodgers 5, Toronto Blue Jays 1
Mon 27 Oct Game 3: LA Dodgers 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5 (18 innings)
Tue 28 Oct Game 4: Toronto Blue Jays 6, LA Dodgers 2
Wed 29 Oct Game 5: Toronto Blue Jays 6, LA Dodgers 1
Fri 31 Oct Game 6: LA Dodgers 3, Toronto Blue Jays 1
Sat 1 Nov Game 7: LA Dodgers at Toronto Blue Jays, 8pm
*if necessary
How to watch
• In the US, all games will be broadcast on FOX. If you have a cable/satellite subscription with FOX included, you can also stream via the FOX Sports app.
• In Canada, the English-language broadcast is on Sportsnet while the French-language broadcasts are on RDS and TVA Sports. The games are also streaming on Sportsnet+ (English-language).
• In the UK, the official broadcaster is TNT Sports. A subscription to their service or their app is required.
• In Australia, the rightsholder is the local branch of ESPN Australia and related platforms.
For the Dodgers, it’s a chance at baseball’s first repeat championship in a quarter-century. For the Blue Jays, it’s a shot at a first title since Joe Carter’s home run rattled Canada in 1993. The matchup could hardly be richer: Shohei Ohtani, the sport’s two-way phenomenon, will start on the mound for Los Angeles, making his fourth outing of the postseason and his first on the road. Ohtani, who’s batting .318 with three home runs in the Series, can remain in the lineup as a designated hitter after leaving the hill – a wrinkle that gives Dave Roberts every reason to hand him the ball from pitch one.
Opposite him: 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who’s starting a World Series Game 7 for the second time in his Cooperstown-bound career. Scherzer already helped the Nationals to the trophy in 2019 and will tonight become the first pitcher ever to start multiple winner-take-all World Series games for different clubs.
Around them stories and subplots abound. Vladimir Guerrero Jr has eight postseason homers and a nation waiting for one more. Freddie Freeman has reached base in every Dodgers game this October. Rookie Trey Yesavage has already set strikeout records. And somewhere in the din, Ohtani will try to deliver one more seismic moment for a team that began its season in Tokyo and now stands 226 days later on the edge of another title.
All hands are on deck. Every reliever, every matchup, every pitch will matter. The road team has won each of the last four World Series Game 7s. The last home club to finish the job? The St Louis Cardinals, in 2011.
So here we are: East v West, dynasty v destiny, a season that started in Japan and ends in Canada. The 121st playing of the World Series comes down to one night. Buckle in.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Owen Weisfeld’s report off Friday night’s Game 6.
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