The Writing of Bill Lucey, Journalist

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Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Photo Credit: Sporting News

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Thanks to two solo home runs, first from Miguel Rojas in the 9th inning (to tie the game) and another solo blast from Will Smith in the 11th (the go-ahead run), the Dodgers came from behind to win Game 7 of the 121st World Series in what seemed like a bruising heavyweight championship, earning a hard fought 5-4 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in 11 innings to capture their ninth World Series Championship.

Two spectacular defensive plays by Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages contributed largely to the Dodger win, along with 2.2 superb innings of relief from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was named series MVP.

• The Dodgers nine World Series victories are tied for fourth-most among all Major League franchises, tying the Athletics and Red Sox and trailing only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11).

• Los Angeles is the first defending World Series Champions to return to the World Series since the Phillies in 2009, and the first club to win consecutive World Series Championships since the Yankees won three straight titles from 1998-2000.

• According to ESPN, the Blue Jays had a 91.7% chance to win Game 7 up 4-3 at the top of the 9th inning.

• Los Angeles became the ninth club to win Games 6 and 7 on the road in a best-of-seven World Series, joining the 2019 Nationals, 2016 Cubs, 1979 Pirates, 1968 Tigers, 1958 Giants, 1952 Yankees.

• The road team is now 20-21 in the 41 winner-take-all World Series games, including each of the last five.

• The Dodgers have won four consecutive Postseason games when facing elimination, following their win in Game 6 of the Fall Classic and victories in Games 4 and 5 of the 2024 NLDS against San Diego.

• 2025 was the 45th Game 7 in World Series history and the 41st winner-take-all game in the Fall Classic.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named Willie Mays Most Valuable Player of the 2025 World Series. He is the third Japanese-born player to win any Postseason MVP Award (WS, ALCS or NLCS), joining Hideki Matsui’s honor in the 2009 Fall Classic and Shohei Ohtani’s NLCS MVP Award.

• Yamamoto is the 15th internationally born player to be named Willie Mays World Series MVP and the first since Jeremy Peña in 2022.

• According to the Sporting News, he is the first pitcher to win 3 road games in a single series.

• Yamamoto is the fourth internationally born pitcher to be named World Series MVP, joining Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s (Panama) honor in 1999; Liván Hernández’s (Cuba) honor in 1997; and José Rijo’s (D.R.) award in 1990.

• Yamamoto went 3-0 in the Fall Classic, pitching to a 1.02 ERA, permitting two earned runs on 10 hits with two walks, 15 strikeouts, two home runs allowed, a 0.68 WHIP and a .169 opponents’ batting average.

• He is the 14th pitcher to notch three wins in a single World Series and the first since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2001. He is the first pitcher ever with three road wins in a single Fall Classic.

• He became the first pitcher to throw a complete game in back-to-back Postseason starts since Curt Schilling fired three consecutive complete games for the Diamondbacks in 2001, including Game 1 and Game 5 of the NLDS and Game 3 of the NLCS.

• The right-hander tossed 6.0 innings of one-run ball in Game 6 and fired 2.2 scoreless innings of relief tonight.

• Yamamoto is just the sixth pitcher to throw at least 6.0 innings, permit one-or-zero runs and tally six strikeouts in at least three consecutive starts in a single Postseason.

• He is the only Japanese-born pitcher to make a start in multiple World Series.

• Tonight’s game marked the sixth winner-take-all World Series game to go to extra-innings and the first since 2016 between Chicago and Cleveland, which lasted 10 innings.

• According to Sarah Langs (MLB.com), the Dodgers are the sixth team to mount a comeback of at least three runs in a best-of-seven, winner-take-all Postseason game, joining the 2003 Yankees (4 runs in ALCS); 1925 Pirates (4 runs in WS); 1986 Mets (3 runs in WS); 1975 Reds (3 runs in WS); and the 1960 Pirates (3 runs in WS).

• The Dodgers 6-4-3 double play to end the game marked the second World Series-clinching double play, joining the Yankees in 1947 against the Dodgers.

• Will Smith’s dramatic solo homer in the 11th inning gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. It was the 37th go-ahead blast in the ninth inning-or-later of a World Series game and the second to occur in Game 7 of the World Series, joining Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer in the 1960 Fall Classic. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the RBI marked Smith’s 36th RBI as a catcher in the postseason.

• According to Sarah Langs (MLB.com) Smith caught 73 innings in the World Series, marking the most innings caught in a single World Series all-time.

• Miguel Rojas tied Game 7 of the 2025 World Series with a solo homer in the ninth inning. It was the 12th game-tying homer in the ninth inning-or-later of a World Series game and the first since Corey Seager’s game-tying blast for Texas in Game 1 in 2023.

• Of the 12 game-tying homers in the ninth inning-or-later in the World Series, it was the first to come in a winner-take-all contest.

• Freddie Freeman hit a single in the fourth inning and reached base safely in each of the Dodgers’ 17 games this Postseason, marking the longest on-base streak of any player in the Majors this October.

• According to Elias, Freeman has reached base safely in each of the first 18 World Series games of his career, tying the longest streak to begin a World Series career, matching Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, who reached in each of his first 18 career World Series games.

• Max Muncy made it a one-run game in the eighth inning, cutting the lead to 4-3 with a solo homer, marking his 16th career longball in the Postseason to extend his Dodgers’ franchise record.

• Muncy’s four career World Series home runs are tied for fifth-most in Dodgers’ history, matching Hall of Famer Roy Campanella, Davey Lopes, Reggie Smith and Steve Yeager.

• Dave Roberts led the Dodgers to the World Series for the fifth time since becoming manager in 2016.

• He is just the 10th skipper to lead his club to at least three World Series titles.

• The Dodgers manager guided Los Angeles to a 13-4 record this Postseason.

• With the Dodgers win in Game 7, his 69 career Postseason victories are third-most all-time, trailing only Torre (84) and La Russa (71).

• Addison Barger went 2-for-4, marking his fifth consecutive multi-hit game.

• Barger banged out six multi-hit games in the Fall Classic overall, matching Sam Rice (1925) and Bill Skowron (1960) for the most in a single Fall Classic.

• The Blue Jays scored 105 runs with 190 hits and 99 RBI in their 18 Postseason games, setting single Postseason records in each category.

• With his single in the sixth inning, Ernie Clement matched Randy Arozarena (2020) for the most hits in a single Postseason, with 29 knocks, and with a double in the eighth inning, Clement surpassed Arozarena’s record.

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had 28 hits and Addison Barger tallied 22 hits this Postseason, as the Blue Jays became the sixth club in Postseason history with at least three players who tallied at least 20 hits in a single Postseason.

• Bo Bichette hammered his first career Postseason home run, a three-run go-ahead blast in the third inning. It was the 26th World Series home run hit in the month of November and the 10th that broke a 0-0 tie.

• With a single in the second inning, Ernie Clement extended his hitting streak to 13 games, marking the longest hitting streak of the 2025 Postseason.

• His 13-game hitting streak is the longest in Blue Jays Postseason history within a single Postseason, surpassing Pat Borders’ 12-game streak in 1992.

• At 36 years, 43 days old, George Springer is the fifth-oldest player with three hits in Game 7 of the World Series.

• Tonight marked the 18th World Series game to be played in November, with AL and NL teams splitting the contests, 9-9.

• According to Elias, this year’s Fall Classic is the second time in Baseball history in which the combined rosters will feature four-or-more Cy Young Award winners. Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw (2011 NL, 2013 NL & 2017 NL) and Blake Snell (2018 AL & 2023 NL) and Toronto’s Max Scherzer (2013 AL, 2016 NL & 2017 NL) and Shane Bieber (2020 AL).

• Justin Dean appeared in 12 games this Postseason but did not register a plate appearance, entering a defensive replacement in center field 10 times and as a pinch-runner twice. His 12 games played this Postseason are the most ever in a single Postseason without any plate appearances (among non-pitchers), surpassing the previous record of 10 games without a plate appearance by Clay Bellinger in 2000.

Compiled by Bill Lucey

Source: MLB Press Office

November 2, 20025

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