WILL SMITH delivered a walk-off home run in the 11th inning as Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their second straight World Series championship with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines).
The Dodgers, who trailed for most of the game, staged a dramatic comeback capped by Smith’s solo shot to left field on a 2-0 count that stunned the crowd at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
With the victory, the Dodgers became the first team in 25 years to capture consecutive World Series championships, matching the feat of the New York Yankees’ three-peat run from 1998 to 2000.
Toronto, who is chasing its first title since 1993, struck first in the third inning when Bo Bichette blasted an 88.7 mph slider from LA Shohei Ohtani over the center-field wall for a three-run homer.
Los Angeles responded in the fourth when Will Smith doubled and Freddie Freeman singled to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly by Kiké Hernández plated a run, trimming the deficit to 3–1.
Andrés Jiménez extended Toronto’s lead to 4–2 in the sixth with an RBI double, but the Dodgers began to claw back. In the eighth, LA’s Max Muncy launched a solo home run to right field off reliever Trevor Yasevich, cutting the lead to one, 3-4.
Then, in the ninth, Miguel Rojas delivered a stunning solo homer to left to tie the game at 4–4, silencing the home crowd.
The Blue Jays nearly walked it off in the bottom of the ninth after loading the bases, but rookie center fielder Andy Pages made a spectacular leaping catch to deny Ernie Clement and preserve the tie.
LA’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching on no rest after starting Game 6, escaped that jam and tossed a scoreless 10th inning. His resilience set the stage for Smith’s heroics in the 11th — a two-out, solo home run to left off Shane Bieber that gave Los Angeles a 5–4 lead.
Toronto mounted one final rally in the bottom of the 11th with Guerrero Jr. doubling and Santiago Espinal walking to put runners on the corners, but Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play to end the game and the series.
The Dodgers also won the World Series last year at the expense of New York Yankees./PN
