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  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto etches himself into World Series lore with gutsy performance in Game 7

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    (CNN) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a contract ahead of the 2024 season worth $325 million over 12 years.

    He had never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball. But the Los Angeles Dodgers had enough money to take that kind of risk, making the bet that such an insane amount of money will eventually be worth it.

    From October 31 to the early hours of November 2, Yamamoto didn’t just prove to be worth that incredible contract. He proved to be priceless.

    The Los Angeles Dodgers began play on Friday with their backs against the wall, facing a roaring Rogers Centre crowd as the Toronto Blue Jays were one win away from their first title in 32 years. They had just lost two straight games at home in Chavez Ravine and it seemed like time was about to run out on their dynasty claim.

    Enter Yamamoto.

    Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning in Game 7. Credit: Patrick Smith / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    He shutdown the Blue Jays again on Friday, going six innings and allowing five hits and just one run while striking out six. It was his second victory of the series.

    But that achievement paled in comparison to what he did in Game 7.

    Pitching on roughly 24 hours of rest, Yamamoto entered the game in the most intense of situations. The Blue Jays had two men on base, needing just one run to win the championship. On his second pitch, he hit Alejandro Kirk and loaded the bases. There was no room for error.

    He forced a ground ball to Miguel Rojas, the man who tied the game with a home run in the top of the ninth, who fired home and got Isiah Kiner-Falefa by an inch. Facing Ernie Clement, who tied the postseason record for most hits in a single playoffs, he forced a popout and ended the threat.

    In the 10th, he put the Blue Jays down in order. In the 11th, he allowed a double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a walk to Addison Barger, putting runners on first and third with one out. With one last nasty splitter, he shattered Alejandro Kirk’s bat and forced a game ending double play.

    Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates with teammate Will Smith after the team defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7. Credit: Chris Young/The Canadian Press / AP via CNN Newsource

    It was his third win of the World Series. It was baseball heroics. It might change the course of his career – starting pitchers are not meant to pitch on such little rest in such high-leverage situations. But it was the stuff legends are made of and no Dodgers fan will ever forget it.

    “He was the MVP of this series. That was incredible,” catcher Will Smith said. “I talked to him yesterday and was like ‘Hey, if you can give one, we can win.’ He gave us three. That was special. He will have a few months off, I know he’s going to need it. I’m just happy for him.”

    His manager, Dave Roberts, put it more succinctly.

    “Yamamoto’s the GOAT!” he yelled repeatedly on the Fox broadcast, using the abbreviation for Greatest of All Time.

    That might be a stretch to say at this point in the Japanese star’s career, but it’s undisputed that his World Series will go down as one of the greatest in baseball history. Winning three games in a single World Series hasn’t been done since Randy Johnson did it in 2001. And he almost got in a fourth game – he was warming up in the 18th inning of Game 3 when Freddie Freeman went deep to give the Dodgers the win, just two days after he pitched a complete game.

    Yoshinobu Yamamoto raises his World Series MVP trophy. Credit: Ashley Landis / AP via CNN Newsource

    He’s now in the same conversation as pitchers such as Bob Gibson, Christy Mathewson and Mickey Lolich. It’s telling that only six pitchers have accomplished the feat since World War II.

    The kind of toughness and grit that it takes to do what Yamamoto did on Saturday – and early Sunday – can’t be overstated.

    Starting pitchers are creatures of habit. They start their game and then spend the next four days recovering, resting and following a dedicated routine that gets them ready to pitch on the fifth day. They repeat that cycle through the season, over and over from March until October.

    And when they pitch, it’s a more strategic task than what relievers often go through. Starting pitchers have to face the same batters two or three times, forming a game plan to keep hitters guessing and then executing it. Reliever often come into a game aiming to overpower hitters with their stuff, either velocity or wicked movement, and use full effort on most pitches.

    Starters don’t always make good relievers, but somehow when the games get to be the most important, managers always put their top guys on the mound whether they want to be there or not.

    Yamamoto most certainly wanted the ball.

    “I was not sure if I could pitch tonight until I went to the bullpen, but I’m glad I was able to,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter when asked about his superhuman effort pitching on back-to-back nights.

    He went two-and-two-thirds innings, allowing one hit and striking out one batter. He lowered his ERA for the postseason to a paltry 1.45 and held opposing hitters to a .143 batting average in five starts and one relief appearance.

    For all the ink spilled about his teammate Shohei Ohtani’s two-way prowess and the two incredible games that he had in the NLCS and Game 3 of the World Series, Yamamoto’s performance is arguably more connected to baseball’s glorious past.

    A complete game victory in Game 2, followed by volunteering for relief duty two days later. Then another six-inning performance, followed by two-plus innings of clutch relief pitching less than a day later.

    It’s the kind of stuff October legends are made of.

    Yamamoto, as is his wont, approached that rarefied air with humility.

    “I did everything I was supposed to do, and I’m so happy that I was able to win this with these teammates,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter.

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    Kyle Feldscher and CNN

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  • Yesavage pitches Blue Jays past Dodgers 6-1 for 3-2 lead in World Series

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    Trey Yesavage set a World Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts, and the Toronto Blue Jays opened Game 5 with back-to-back homers in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday that moved them within one win of their first championship since 1993.Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected on Blake Snell’s first and third pitches, the first consecutive homers to start a Series game.Yesavage, a precocious 22-year-old right-hander who began his season last April pitching before 327 fans in Class A, took over from there.With a sinking splitter, spinning slider and overpowering fastball that quieted LA bats and a crowd of 52,175, he broke the prior rookie record of 11 strikeouts set by Don Newcombe for the Dodgers in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees in the 1949 opener. Getting six Ks each with his splitter and slider, Yesavage became the first Series pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks.“I’m kind of blown away by what he did,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.After losing a Game 3 heartbreaker in 18 innings Monday night, the resilient Blue Jays bounced right back with two comfortable wins.Toronto leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven matchup and can dethrone the defending champions back home when the Series resumes Friday night at Rogers Centre. No team has won consecutive titles since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998-2000.“We’ve got to kind of wipe the slate clean and find a way to win Game 6 and pick up the pieces and see where we’re at,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.Yesavage allowed three hits over seven innings and his only run when Kiké Hernández homered on a high fastball to trim the Dodgers’ deficit to 2-1 in the third.Seranthony Domínguez and Jeff Hoffman finished a four-hitter.“When three of my pitches are in the strike zone, or even two, like part of tonight, I mean, I’m in control,” Yesavage said. “Just stay in the strike zone and get ahead.”Yesavage debuted with the Blue Jays on Sept. 15, his fifth level of baseball this year. He went 1-0 in three regular-season starts and is 3-1 in five postseason outings.Yesavage induced 23 swings and misses — most in a Series game since pitch tracking started in 2008, one more than San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum in 2010 Game 5.“Obviously the stuff is incredible, but the maturity to go and handle these moments is unbelievable. It was a special thing to watch today,” teammate Bo Bichette said. “I think he’s ultra confident, but you never hear it in the clubhouse, which I think says something about him. He comes here to work and try to help us win. I can’t say enough good things about his performance.”Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, dropped to 0-2 in the Series, allowing five runs, six hits and four walks over 6 2/3 innings.Roberts shook up his slumping batting order, dropping Mookie Betts as low as third for the first time since 2021 and benching outfielder Andy Pages in favor of Alex Call. It didn’t spark an offense that is hitting .202 in the Series and has solo shots on seven of its eight home runs. Los Angeles has scored just four runs in its last 29 innings.The Dodgers also threw four wild pitches in a span of two innings.“We’ve got to make some adjustments,” Roberts said. “We’ve been in elimination games, a core group of these guys, and we’ve got to find a way to win a game. That’s it.”Davis Schneider, batting first only because regular leadoff hitter George Springer got hurt in Game 3, sent Snell’s first pitch into the left-field bleachers. Guerrero hit the third into the Dodgers’ bullpen for his eighth home run of the postseason.Davis Schneider mimics different stances during the year, including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Bobby Witt Jr. and even the Dodgers’ Will Smith during the World Series. The part-time outfielder and second baseman was in an old stance of his from the minor leagues against Snell.Snell started with three fastballs, then avoided another one for 22 consecutive pitches before striking out Andres Giménez with a heater to end the second.Ernie Clement added a fourth-inning sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead after right fielder Teoscar Hernández came up short on a sliding catch attempt as Daulton Varsho’s drive bounced into the right-field corner for a leadoff triple.Another run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh by Edgardo Henriquez, who then allowed Bichette’s RBI single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Anthony Banda.“I think we just want to be the toughest outs we can possibly be,” Bichette said. “We’re a team, man, and we’ll do anything we can to win.”

    LOS ANGELES —

    Trey Yesavage set a World Series rookie record with 12 strikeouts, and the Toronto Blue Jays opened Game 5 with back-to-back homers in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday that moved them within one win of their first championship since 1993.

    Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected on Blake Snell’s first and third pitches, the first consecutive homers to start a Series game.

    Yesavage, a precocious 22-year-old right-hander who began his season last April pitching before 327 fans in Class A, took over from there.

    With a sinking splitter, spinning slider and overpowering fastball that quieted LA bats and a crowd of 52,175, he broke the prior rookie record of 11 strikeouts set by Don Newcombe for the Dodgers in a 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees in the 1949 opener. Getting six Ks each with his splitter and slider, Yesavage became the first Series pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

    “I’m kind of blown away by what he did,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.

    After losing a Game 3 heartbreaker in 18 innings Monday night, the resilient Blue Jays bounced right back with two comfortable wins.

    Toronto leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven matchup and can dethrone the defending champions back home when the Series resumes Friday night at Rogers Centre. No team has won consecutive titles since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998-2000.

    “We’ve got to kind of wipe the slate clean and find a way to win Game 6 and pick up the pieces and see where we’re at,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

    Yesavage allowed three hits over seven innings and his only run when Kiké Hernández homered on a high fastball to trim the Dodgers’ deficit to 2-1 in the third.

    Seranthony Domínguez and Jeff Hoffman finished a four-hitter.

    “When three of my pitches are in the strike zone, or even two, like part of tonight, I mean, I’m in control,” Yesavage said. “Just stay in the strike zone and get ahead.”

    Yesavage debuted with the Blue Jays on Sept. 15, his fifth level of baseball this year. He went 1-0 in three regular-season starts and is 3-1 in five postseason outings.

    Yesavage induced 23 swings and misses — most in a Series game since pitch tracking started in 2008, one more than San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum in 2010 Game 5.

    “Obviously the stuff is incredible, but the maturity to go and handle these moments is unbelievable. It was a special thing to watch today,” teammate Bo Bichette said. “I think he’s ultra confident, but you never hear it in the clubhouse, which I think says something about him. He comes here to work and try to help us win. I can’t say enough good things about his performance.”

    Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, dropped to 0-2 in the Series, allowing five runs, six hits and four walks over 6 2/3 innings.

    Roberts shook up his slumping batting order, dropping Mookie Betts as low as third for the first time since 2021 and benching outfielder Andy Pages in favor of Alex Call. It didn’t spark an offense that is hitting .202 in the Series and has solo shots on seven of its eight home runs. Los Angeles has scored just four runs in its last 29 innings.

    The Dodgers also threw four wild pitches in a span of two innings.

    “We’ve got to make some adjustments,” Roberts said. “We’ve been in elimination games, a core group of these guys, and we’ve got to find a way to win a game. That’s it.”

    Davis Schneider, batting first only because regular leadoff hitter George Springer got hurt in Game 3, sent Snell’s first pitch into the left-field bleachers. Guerrero hit the third into the Dodgers’ bullpen for his eighth home run of the postseason.

    Davis Schneider mimics different stances during the year, including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Bobby Witt Jr. and even the Dodgers’ Will Smith during the World Series. The part-time outfielder and second baseman was in an old stance of his from the minor leagues against Snell.

    Snell started with three fastballs, then avoided another one for 22 consecutive pitches before striking out Andres Giménez with a heater to end the second.

    Ernie Clement added a fourth-inning sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead after right fielder Teoscar Hernández came up short on a sliding catch attempt as Daulton Varsho’s drive bounced into the right-field corner for a leadoff triple.

    Another run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh by Edgardo Henriquez, who then allowed Bichette’s RBI single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Anthony Banda.

    “I think we just want to be the toughest outs we can possibly be,” Bichette said. “We’re a team, man, and we’ll do anything we can to win.”

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  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 2-run HR off Shohei Ohtani helps Blue Jays even World Series at 2-2 against Dodgers

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    (CNN) — The Toronto Blue Jays bounced back from a tough Game 3 loss to even the World Series at two games apiece following a 6-2 Game 4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

    Down 1-0 in the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drilled a go-ahead two-run home run off Dodgers two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani to give the road team a 2-1 lead. It was Guerrero Jr.’s seventh homer this postseason.

    “I get that it’s easy to write Ohtani versus Guerrero. To us, it’s Toronto versus Los Angeles. But that swing was huge,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters after the game. “After last night and kind of all the recognition that went into Shohei individually and he’s on the mound today, it’s a huge swing from Vlad. It’s a huge swing to get us going.”

    Guerrero Jr. said he never lost faith in the Blue Jays despite the Game 3 defeat.

    “Yesterday was a tough (loss) but we flushed it right away, to us it’s one game at a time, one pitch at a time and thank God we come in with a ‘W’ today,” Guerrero Jr. said after the game on the FOX broadcast. “I believe in this team and this team is something special.”

    Fresh off a historic Game 3 performance, Ohtani made his first career World Series start on the mound. In six-plus innings, the Japanese pitcher gave up four runs on six hits while striking out six batters and walking one.

    Shohei Ohtani is the first-ever starting pitcher to bat leadoff in the World Series. Credit: Harry How / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Ohtani was lifted in the seventh inning. Toronto would score four runs in the inning as Ohtani took the loss.

    Ohtani had reached base safely a World Series-record 11 consecutive times after walking in the first inning, but Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber struck him out in the third inning, ending the impressive streak. Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats and struck out twice.

    Bieber picked up the victory for Toronto after tossing five-and-a-third innings and giving up just one run on four hits.

    After what he described as “the biggest start of my career,” Bieber spoke to broadcaster FOX about the Blue Jays’ fortitude.

    “We have so many guys that are capable of impacting the game in a positive way, and since I got traded over here, that’s exactly who we’ve been,” the mid-season acquisition said.

    “It’s just a pleasure to be a part of this group.”

    Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who was 2-for-4 in Game 4 and is riding a 10-game postseason hitting streak, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

    “That’s what we do – we bounce back,” Clement told FOX. “We got a resilient group, and it’s a testament to the character in our clubhouse.”

    The winner of Game 4 of the Fall Classic has won the title 72% of the time.

    Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday at Dodger Stadium in a rematch between Game 1 starters Trey Yesavage for Toronto and Blake Snell for Los Angeles.

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    Wayne Sterling and CNN

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  • Longest World Series game in years ends in the 18th inning on Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run

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    (CNN) — The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday in 18 innings, which matched the longest World Series game ever, to take a two games to one lead in the best-of-seven series.

    In a thrilling back-and-forth extra innings battle, the Dodgers needed a history-making night from their two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who had three RBIs and three runs scored in an incredible four-hit, two-homer performance that saw the three-time MVP reach base safely an astonishing nine times.

    In the end, it was an 18th-inning, walk-off home run from 2024 World Series MVP Freddie Freeman that delivered the win for the Dodgers.

    Toronto’s 41-year-old starting pitcher Max Scherzer put his name in the MLB history books in the opening inning Monday night, becoming the first pitcher ever to appear in the World Series with four different teams. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was greeted rudely by a Shohei Ohtani lead-off double, but Scherzer managed to escape the inning unscathed.

    Los Angeles right fielder Teoscar Hernández would get the Dodgers on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second with a solo home run off Scherzer for a 1-0 lead.

    Ohtani would double the Dodgers’ lead in the third inning, turning on a Scherzer fastball and sending it 389 feet into the Blue Jays’ bullpen.

    Los Angeles was poised to add another run, but a perfect throw from Toronto right fielder Addison Barger cut Freeman down at the plate after a single from Dodgers catcher Will Smith.

    The crucial outfield assist from Barger swung the momentum of the game in Toronto’s favor.

    The Blue Jays got two runners on base with no one out in the fourth inning after Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman made a fielding error on a possible double play ball off the bat of Toronto’s Bo Bichette. Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk then turned the game on its head with a three-run homer off Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow to put the Jays in front 3-2. Toronto would tack on another run on a Andrés Giménez sacrifice fly.

    The Dodgers bounced back with a two-run fifth inning to tie it up. Ohtani collected his third extra-base hit of the game with a double to plate Kiké Hernández. Freeman then drove in Ohtani with a single down the first base line to knot the game at 4-4.

    Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays narrowly beats the tag by Los Angeles Dodgers Will Smith. Credit: Luke Hales / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Toronto reclaimed the lead 5-4 in the seventh inning on a spectacular play. Bichette laced a double down the first base line that sent Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. racing around the bases, slapping his right hand down on the plate just ahead of a diving tag attempt from Smith.

    Ohtani once again came to the rescue, belting his second home run of the game in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5. The reigning National League MVP’s fourth extra base hit of the game tied a World Series record set by Frank Isbell of the Chicago White Sox in 1906. Ohtani also established his own MLB record with his third multi-homer game in a single postseason.

    Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting his second home run of World Series Game 3 in Los Angeles. Credit: Luke Hales / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    The game would remain tied into the bottom of the ninth inning, when Toronto manager John Schneider made the decision to intentionally walk Ohtani rather than give him a chance to do more damage at the plate. Ohtani was promptly caught stealing when he slid past the base and was tagged out by second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to snuff out the rally.

    As the game progressed to extra innings, the Blue Jays threatened to score in the top of the 10th inning, but a great throw from Teoscar Hernandez in right field and a perfect relay from Edman had Blue Jays baserunner Davis Schneider dead to rights at the plate as the game remained all square.

    With neither team able to score, the contest dragged on into the 18th inning and passed the six-hour mark. It tied the record for longest World Series game ever, matching 2018’s Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers, also at Dodger Stadium.

    The Dodgers got heroic efforts from a couple unlikely relievers – two shutout innings from Edgardo Henriquez and four from Will Klein, who picked up the win in a career-long outing.

    With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched a complete game for Los Angeles in Game 2, warming up to take the mound if the game went to a 19th inning, Freeman made sure that wasn’t the case with a towering walk-off home run to center field off Toronto reliever Brendon Little.

    After six hours and 39 minutes of nerve-racking agony, more than 50,000 fans in Dodger Stadium erupted into celebration as Freeman rounded the bases to the familiar tune of Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” to put an end to one of the most epic games in MLB history.

    The Dodgers team mobbed Freeman at home plate as the Blue Jays retreated to their clubhouse to lick their wounds with roughly 17 hours until the teams will do it all again in Game 4 Tuesday night.

    Freeman described his emotions rounding the bases to broadcaster FOX after the game.

    “Just pure excitement,” Freeman said. “When you grind and fight, and our bullpen and our pitching staff did what they did, to have that go six hours and 40 minutes or so, that’s as good as it gets.”

    Ohtani, who will have limited time to rest as he is the Los Angeles’ scheduled starting pitcher for Game 4, made another bit of MLB postseason history by becoming the first player to reach base nine times in a playoff game. Prior to Monday, no player had reached base more than six times in a postseason game. After his 4-for-4 start to the game, the three-time MVP was the recipient of four intentional walks and one traditional walk.

    Ohtani was asked after the game how he felt following his historic night.

    “I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready (for Game 4),” a grinning Ohtani told FOX through an interpreter.

    Los Angeles will enter Game 4 with a decided advantage – historically when the teams split the first two games of the World Series, the winner of Game 3 has won the championship 67% of the time.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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    Kevin Dotson and CNN

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  • Blue Jays manager to Shohei Ohtani: We want our hat back — and your dog’s jacket

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    TORONTO (AP) — While most of baseball is saying hats off to Shohei Ohtani, Toronto manager John Schneider wants a cap back from the two-way star.

    Before signing a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-way star met with Blue Jays officials on Dec. 4, 2023, at the team’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida.

    Ohtani will be the opening batter of the World Series, leading off for the defending champion Dodgers against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday night after his unprecedented performance in the NL Championship Series.

    “I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat that he took from us in our meeting. I hope he brought it back, finally,” Schneider said Thursday.

    “And the jacket for Decoy,” he added, a reference to Ohtani’s dog, a Nederlanse kooikerhondje. “It’s like, give us our stuff back already.”

    Ohtani smiled when asked about the headgear.

    “It’s in my garage,” he said through a translator.

    Ohtani helped lead the Dodgers to last year’s title, hitting .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases.

    Back to pitching in a limited role this season as he returned from elbow surgery, he batted .282 with 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 steals while going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 62 in 47 innings.

    Last Friday, he homered three times while pitching six shutout innings and striking 10 against Milwaukee as the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of the NL Championship Series.

    Absent Ohtani, the Blue Jays had the finances to give first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a $500 million, 14-year contract that starts next year, and he helped Toronto reach the World Series for the first time since 1993.

    “He’s a great player,” Schneider said. “But that aside, I think that we have a great team and just an unbelievable cast of characters and players. I think things worked out the way they’re meant to work out.”

    Schneider isn’t sure how close the Blue Jays came to signing Ohtani.

    “When we met with him, you felt good about it, and you felt good about the feedback he was giving about our organization and opportunity here,” he said. “But you never really know what a player’s feeling in free agency, and there’s a lot of things that have to line up for them personally, too, so you can’t really think about what if. You think about the 26 (players) that we have.”

    Ohtani praised the Blue Jays.

    “It’s an unfortunate reality as a free agent that you get to really pick one team,” he said. “The decision had to be made, but again, this organization has been superb. They have a lot of awesome people.”

    ___

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

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  • George Springer’s epic home run helps send the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series with ALCS Game 7 win over Seattle

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    (CNN) — The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to their first World Series since 1993 after a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

    Things were looking bleak for the Blue Jays until designated hitter George Springer delivered a huge three-run home run in the seventh inning as Toronto surged into the lead.

    Springer’s late-inning heroics set up a compelling World Series match-up pitting the American League’s best team against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

    The Mariners opened the must-win game with an exciting first inning that featured a little bit of everything. Julio Rodriguez opened the game with a lead-off double down the left field line to set the table for Seattle.

    Seattle’s MVP candidate, Cal Raleigh, then struck out swinging at a high fastball, but Josh Naylor picked up his teammate with a single to drive in Rodriguez with the game’s first run.

    Controversy followed when Jorge Polanco hit a groundball to Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who was shaded toward shortstop. Clement took the ball to second base himself and whipped the ball towards first base for a would-be inning-ending double play.

    But Clement’s throw ricocheted wildly off the helmet of baserunner Naylor, allowing Polanco to reach first base safely. Replays showed Naylor turn his back toward the oncoming throw and leap into the air as the ball caromed off the crown of his helmet.

    After a huddle in the infield, the six-man umpiring crew determined that Naylor had deliberately obstructed Clement’s throw and called Polanco out at first to end the inning.

    The Blue Jays carried that momentum into the bottom of the first inning and tied the game 1-1 on a soft groundball single from Daulton Varsho.

    After a scoreless second inning, Rodriguez led off the third inning with a solo home run off Shane Bieber to put the Mariners back in front 2-1. The blast was Rodriguez’s third of the series.

    Raleigh, who led MLB with 60 home runs during the regular season, smacked his fifth long ball of the playoffs, his fourth against the Jays, to extend the M’s lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning.

    The mood was getting very nervous in Toronto’s Rogers Centre as the game reached the seventh inning stretch with the home team trailing and time running out on the Blue Jays’ season.

    But a walk and a softly hit single set the stage for Blue Jays’ lead-off hitter Springer, the 2017 World Series MVP with the Houston Astros.

    Facing Eduardo Bazardo, fresh into the game from the bullpen, Springer cranked a three-run homer to catapult the Blue Jays into the lead for the first time in the game at 4-3. The crowd at the Rogers Centre erupted as Springer rounded the bases as the unforgettable moment played out.

    Toronto’s George Springer celebrates his three run home run in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 7. Credit: Mark Blinch / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Toronto then turned to its bullpen to close the game out,

    Chris Bassitt pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth, striking out all three Mariners batters he faced to end the game and send the Canadian crowd into ecstasy.

    After the victory, Springer was asked about what he would remember about his dramatic moment. A modest Springer replied, “The at-bats before me. If it’s not for those guys, that moment doesn’t happen.

    “I’m so happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country. I am so happy right now,” he told Fox Sports while the joyous crowd cheered.

    Springer was forced to leave Game 5 of the series after getting hit in the knee by a pitch and appeared to be in discomfort in Games 6 and 7. When asked about the pain, he doubled down on his love for Toronto. “I owe it to these fans, this city, this country to give it my all. It doesn’t matter. So, I’ll take it,” he said.

    Toronto superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named ALCS MVP after batting .385 and crushing three home runs in the series.

    The Blue Jays will host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

    As for the crestfallen Mariners, they remain the only franchise in Major League Baseball yet to appear in a World Series.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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    Kevin Dotson and CNN

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  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits sixth homer of postseason as Blue Jays dominate Mariners to force ALCS Game 7

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    (CNN) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his sixth home run of the 2025 postseason as the Toronto Blue Jays dominated the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday to force Game 7 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

    The only major league team without a pennant, Seattle will play a Game 7 for the first time in its history Monday in Toronto. It will be the second Game 7 the Blue Jays have ever played and their first since 1985.

    The winner faces the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series with Game 1 taking place on Friday.

    Although Toronto staved off elimination admirably, the Blue Jays were given a helping hand by Seattle’s season-high three errors – two of which came moments apart in the second inning.

    First, Julio Rodríguez had a fielding error on a single from Daulton Varsho to left center-field, allowing Varsho to take second base.

    The next batter, Ernie Clement, hit a groundball to Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who ended up losing the ball on the transfer to throw.

    Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa immediately took advantage with back-to-back RBI singles to open an early 2-0 advantage for Toronto.

    “Balls just kind of in and out of the glove there that put a couple extra guys on base,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, according to NBC Sports. “Unfortunately, it led to a couple runs.”

    Barger doubled the advantage an inning later when he smacked a two-run homer to right center field.

    With a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the fifth, up stepped Guerrero Jr.

    The slugger’s solo shot to left field was his sixth homer of the playoffs and extended the Blue Jays’ lead to 5-0.

    The Mariners eventually got on the board in the sixth after Josh Naylor homered to right field. Randy Arozerana followed with a single that knocked Trey Yesavage out of the game after 87 pitches. Suárez then welcomed reliever Louis Varland with a single down the right-field line to score Arozerana from first base.

    But the game was put beyond Seattle’s reach after a wild pitch from Matt Brash in the seventh which allowed Guerrero to score, extending the lead to 6-2 and consequently sending the series to a deciding Game 7.

    “Got to enjoy it, man. This is what we sign up for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s special and unique, but you have to look at it as a game.”

    It was six days since the Mariners scored five runs in four innings against Yesevage in Game 2, giving the 2024 first-round pick his first taste of adversity at the highest level.

    But on Sunday, 22-year-old threw a season-high 31 splitters, getting seven strikeouts and giving up only six hits and three walks on the night, showing a level of composure that gave his team a huge win.

    “I just believed in myself. I know my stuff plays at this level,” Yesavage said, according to AP.

    “I know the defense behind me is going to play at the best of their abilities, and getting three double plays in back-to-back-to-back innings was huge.”

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    CNN

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  • Toronto Blue Jays knock out New York Yankees to reach first ALCS in nine years

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    (CNN) — After nine long years, the Toronto Blue Jays are heading back to the American League Championship Series once more.

    The Jays defeated the New York Yankees 5-2 on Wednesday night to stamp their ticket for a best-of-seven ALCS playoff matchup against the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners, starting Sunday in Canada at Rogers Centre.

    Having blown a five-run lead at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday to fumble a potential sweep, the AL East champions returned to the Bronx to take care of business and progress with a 3-1 series win.

    Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and DH George Springer each drove in a run earlier in the game before outfielder Nathan Lukes provided a two-run single in the top of the seventh to put the Blue Jays up 4-1. Eight Toronto pitchers combined to keep the Yankees in check offensively with Jeff Hoffman retiring New York catcher Austin Wells with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to effectively ice the game.

    “I feel amazing,” Guerrero Jr. told MLB after sealing the Blue Jays’ ticket to the ALCS.

    “I feel so good. We played for this, and I feel so good. I don’t have the words to say how I feel right now.”

    The Blue Jays celebrate wildly in the locker room after victory over the New York Yankees sends them to first ALCS in nine years. Credit: Ishika Samant / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Toronto overjoyed, but Judge’s dreams dashed again

    The Blue Jays now wait to see the outcome of the decisive Tigers vs. Mariners Game 5 clash in Seattle on Friday but can get excited for their first trip to the Championship Series since 2016.

    Toronto will be hoping to flip the script this time around, having been comprehensively beaten in five games by the then-named Cleveland Indians. Do that, and they can start dreaming of a third World Series title to add to the back-to-back triumphs in 1992 and 1993.

    “We’ve wanted to win a World Series our entire careers,” said Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who was spotted jogging at Yankee Stadium ahead of Wednesday’s win having been out injured since early September.

    “We’re not there yet, but this is a huge step. It’s a blessing to be part of this group.”

    For the Yankees, following last season’s fall at the final hurdle, the wait for a 28th World Series title will tick over to at least 17 years.

    Team captain Aaron Judge went down swinging in a deflating end to another stellar individual season – yet again with no World Series ring to complete his glittering cabinet of accolades.

    “That’s sports. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, and he (Judge) and I wholeheartedly believe that it will,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

    “You keep working your tail off to get back to this position and punch through.”

    New York’s Aaron Judge is still chasing a first World Series ring. Credit: Al Bello / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Wednesday’s Division Series results

    Winners in bold

    New York Yankees 2 – 5 Toronto Blue Jays (Toronto wins ALDS series 3-1)

    Seattle Mariners 3 – 9 Detroit Tigers (ALDS series tied 2-2)

    Philadelphia Phillies 8 – 2 Los Angeles Dodgers (LA leads NLDS series 2-1)

    Milwaukee Brewers 3 – 4 Chicago Cubs (Milwaukee leads NLDS series 2-1)

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    Jack Bantock and CNN

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  • Proposed Trade Could Send Detroit Tigers To World Series

    Proposed Trade Could Send Detroit Tigers To World Series

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    After a promising 2024 season that saw the Detroit Tigers come up just short of a trip to the American League Championship Series, the buzz surrounding the team for 2025 is growing. Many believe that with the right moves, the Tigers could solidify their lineup and position themselves as serious contenders for the World Series. One name being floated as a potential target is that of Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

    The Trade Proposal

    According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, a proposed trade could see the Tigers acquiring Guerrero Jr. in exchange for a package that includes right-handed pitcher Reese Olson, infielder Jace Jung, right-handed pitcher Matt Manning, and shortstop Jose Dickson.

    Breakdown of the Trade:

    • Tigers Acquire: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
    • Blue Jays Acquire:
      • RHP Reese Olson
      • 2B/3B Jace Jung
      • RHP Matt Manning
      • SS Jose Dickson

    As noted by Petzold, Guerrero Jr., a four-time All-Star, is under team control for one more season and is projected to earn approximately $30 million in his final year of salary arbitration before hitting free agency in 2025. His impressive 2024 season saw him hit .323 with 30 home runs and a .940 OPS across 159 games, maintaining his status as a top-10 hitter in baseball for the past four seasons.

    Detroit Tigers

    The Context of the Trade

    While it seems unlikely that the Blue Jays would trade Guerrero this offseason, there are scenarios that could change their stance. If the Blue Jays find themselves unable to sign him to a contract extension, miss out on the lucrative Juan Soto sweepstakes, or decide to reorganize their roster for the future, they may consider trading him before Opening Day 2025.

    For the Blue Jays, the return for Guerrero could greatly benefit their rebuilding efforts. Olson is a borderline All-Star pitcher with control through the 2029 season, Jung has a bright future ahead with control until 2030, and Manning is under contract through 2027. Additionally, Dickson, a prospect currently playing in the Dominican Summer League, adds further value to the package.

    As the Tigers look ahead to the offseason, the prospect of acquiring a superstar like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has fans buzzing with excitement. With strategic trades and the right additions, the Tigers could very well find themselves in contention for the ultimate prize: a trip to the World Series.

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    W.G. Brady

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  • Yankees Pick Up Team Option For Luis Severino, Potentially Setting Him Up For A Bigger Contract

    Yankees Pick Up Team Option For Luis Severino, Potentially Setting Him Up For A Bigger Contract

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    Perhaps the clearest thing to emerge from Brian Cashman’s lengthy state of the Yankees press conference on Friday concerned the status of Luis Severino.

    During his roughly 45 minutes at the podium in the basement of Yankee Stadium and approximately 22 hours before the Astros clinched their second World Series title, Cashman gave his clearest answer when it came to status of Luis Severino, describing his status on the team “as an easy yes”.

    “He’s been a really impactful pitcher, so the answer to that would be an easy yes,” Cashman said.

    A little over 68 hours later, came word that the “easy yes” became official when the Yankees announced they were picking up the one-year, $15 million team option for Severino on Monday, hours before Angels GM Perry Minasian said he was not trading Shohei Ohtani, who has one year left before entering free agency.

    The option is part of the four-year, $40 million contract signed by Severino in spring training 2019. At the time, he signed on the dotted line, Severino made a little over $600,000 and was coming off a spectacular 19-win season, resulting in a 10th-place finish in the AL Cy Young race won by Blake Snell.

    At the time of the new deal, it was believed Severino was setting himself to cash in free agency. The original portion of the deal deal would take him through his age-28 season and the option would conclude his age-29 season, the same age Gerrit Cole was when he signed a nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.

    Instead injuries constantly interfered, setting up the final year of the team-friendly deal as a second straight “prove it season” for Severino.

    Before pitching well enough to get his team option picked up, Severino strained a latissimus dorsi muscle and did not make his 2019 debut until Sept. 17. He then had Tommy John surgery Feb. 27, 2020 – two weeks before the season was delayed and ultimately sliced to 60 games in two-plus months due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and then did not return from the surgery until returning on Sept. 21, 2021 for four relief appearances

    At the moment 27 starting pitchers are scheduled to make at least $15 million in 2023, a list that includes Justin Verlander, who may not exercise his player option for next season after helping Houston win the World Series by winning Game 5.

    In the 99-win regular season, Severino did his part by going 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts, with 112 strikeouts against 30 walks in 102 innings. He also held hitters to a slash line of .196/.263/.353 in those starts and highlighted his success by pitching seven innings of a combined one-hitter against Detroit on June 4 along with also becoming the first pitcher to strike Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. three times in his second start on April 14.

    Seventeen of those starts were before he sustained right shoulder tightness on July 13 when he allowed three homers on three different pitches in two innings against the Cincinnati Reds.

    It took Severino over two months to return, though not by his design. While he understood the Yankee point of view, he was hardly thrilled with being moved to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 1 after throwing from flat ground in the previous two weeks.

    “I was not happy. I was not expecting that,” Severino said the day before the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas from Oakland and traded Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. “If that’s the plan they have for me to come back healthy, I have to just follow the plan.”

    Perhaps as meaningful as his base statistics was performance of his three main pitches, the four-seam fastball, changeup and the slider.

    Hitters batted .186 and saw 780 four-seamers as Severino averaged 96.3 mph on the pitch. Severino. Severino threw his changeup 363 times and hitters batted .235 as it averaged 88.8. Against the slider, Severino threw the pitch 342 times, held hitters to a .169 average and averaged 85.2 mph.

    The velocity numbers are down from 2018 when he averaged 97.6 on 1,589 four-seamers, 88.1 mph on 1,132 sliders and 88.1 mph on 427 changeups while facing 780 hitters in 191 1/3 innings.

    Last year’s performance showed Severino could pitch as effectively as he did during 2017 and 2018 when he recorded 33 of his 50 career wins. If Severino pitches as well as he did for most of last season and does it for a full season, he could set himself for an even nicer payday and another key free agent decision for the Yankees.

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    Larry Fleisher, Contributor

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