Dodgers lose to Blue Jays in World Series Game 5, moving to brink of elimination

Unfathomable. Unwatchable. Unbearable.

Undone.

The richest team in baseball is splitting apart at the seams, tearing under stress, fraying beyond recognition, collecting on the floor of the 2025 baseball season in heaping piles of disappointment.

Soon, the supposedly greatest collection of players in Dodgers history could be history.

Soon, in another country and seemingly in another reality, the Dodgers could lose the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, a hearty band of overachievers who took a three-games-to-two lead Wednesday with a workmanlike 6-1 Game 5 victory at Dodger Stadium.

⚾ Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 1 — FINAL

The Dodgers’ hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series champion in 25 years took a treacherous turn Wednesday night with a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 putting them on the brink of elimination.

In the final game to be played at Dodger Stadium this season, Blake Snell became the first pitcher in World Series history to give up back-to-back home runs to lead off a game.

From there, Blue Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage put on a show, striking out 12 (World Series rookie record) while holding the Dodgers to just three hits over seven innings. Toronto scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings to all but thwart the Dodgers’ comeback chances.

The Dodgers trail the best-of-seven series 3-2 and will need to win on Friday in Game 6 at Rogers Centre in Toronto to force a Game 7.

Ninth-inning recap

Top of the ninth: Blake Treinen took the mound for the Dodgers and got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out. Bo Bichette grounded out to second and Alejandro Kirk grounded out to first.

Bottom of the ninth: Facing Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman, Will Smith led with a liner to left field for a single. Mookie Betts then flied out to left to go to 0 for 4 on the night.

Hoffman struck out Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández to end the game.

⚾ Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 1 — Through eighth inning

Top of the eighth: Ernie Clement led with a single to center before taking second on an Anthony Banda wild pitch. Addison Barger grounded out to second.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa then singled to left field, scoring Clement to make it 6-1 Toronto.

Andrés Giménez flied out to left field and Myles Straw popped out to second to cap the frame.

Top of the eighth: Facing Toronto reliever Seranthony Domínguez, Max Muncy grounded out to first before Kiké Hernández struck out. Alex Call then drew a walk. Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first base to send the game to the ninth.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 1 — Through seventh inning

Top of the seventh: Addison Barger singled to left before taking second base on a wild pitch from Blake Snell. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to short and Snell walked Andrés Giménez, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior.

Snell then threw another wild pitch, allowing Addison to take third. After Snell struck out Davis Schneider, Dave Roberts went to his bullpen, putting Edgardo Henriquez on the mound.

Facing Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Henriquez threw a full-count wild pitch that got past Will Smith and allowed Barger to score from third, making it 4-1 Blue Jays.

Bo Bichette followed with an RBI single to right field to make it 5-1 Blue Jays.

After issuing a walk to Alejandro Kirk, Henriquez was relieved by Anthony Banda, who got Daulton Varsho to ground out to second for the third out.

Bottom of the seventh: Trey Yesavage struck out Freddie Freeman. Teoscar Hernández then reached first on a soft grounder toward third base before Tommy Edman grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 3, Dodgers 1 — Through sixth inning

Top of the sixth: Alejandro Kirk grounded out to third before Daulton Varsho lined out to right field. Freddie Freeman made a sliding grab on a liner off the bat of Ernie Clement to deny him a single and end the inning.

Blake Snell has given up five hits and three runs, with six strikeouts and three walks over 92 pitches.

Bottom of the sixth: Toronto right fielder Addison Barger made a diving grab to thwart a potential extra-base hit by Shohei Ohtani to open the inning. Trey Yesavage then struck out Will Smith. Mookie Betts grounded out to third to end the inning.

Yesavage is the first rookie to throw 11 strikeouts in a World Series game.

⚾ Blue Jays 3, Dodgers 1 — Through the fifth inning

Top of the fifth: Davis Schneider drew a leadoff walk from Blake Snell before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a bouncing comebacker to Snell to trigger a 1-4-3 double play. Bo Bichette lined out to left field to cap the frame.

Bottom of fifth: Max Muncy grounded out before Trey Yesavage struck out Kiké Hernández and Alex Call to end the inning.

Yesavage has given up just two hits and one run, with 10 strikeouts over 77 pitches.

⚾ Blue Jays 3, Dodgers 1 — Through fourth inning

Top of the fourth: Daulton Varsho led with a triple after Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández tried to make a sliding catch only for the ball to ricochet off his glove and roll to the wall.

Ernie Clement then drove in Varsho on a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 3-1 Blue Jays.

Blake Snell walked Addison Barger then struck out Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andrés Giménez to end the inning.

Top of the fourth: Trey Yesavage struck out Will Smith and Mookie Betts to lead off the frame, giving him eight strikeouts on the night. He then hit Freddie Freeman with a pitch.

Teoscar Hernández followed with a single on a grounder up the middle that Giménez managed to field but couldn’t make a throw to second. Tommy Edman popped out to short to strand Freeman and Hernández.

⚾ Blue Jays 2, Dodgers 1 — Through third inning

Top of the third: Blake Snell struck out Davis Schneider before walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette reached base after Mookie Betts made a wide throw to Tommy Edman at second that forced out Guerrero, but made a double play impossible.

Snell struck out Alejandro Kirk for the third out. Snell has four strikeouts so far.

Bottom of the third: Trey Yesavage struck out Max Muncy for his fifth consecutive strikeout.

Kiké Hernández then hit a home run on a 407-foot blast into the left-field pavilion that also doubled for the Dodgers’ first hit, cutting Toronto’s lead in half.

Alex Call lined out to center field for the second out before Yesavage struck out Shohei Ohtani.

⚾ Blue Jays 2, Dodgers 0 — Through second inning

Top of the second: Ernie Clement grounded out to short before Addison Barger slapped a Blake Snell fast ball to right field for a single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then flied out to right field before Snell struck out Andrés Giménez to cap the frame.

Bottom of the second: Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage struck out Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman to give him four consecutive strikeouts.

⚾ Blue Jays 2, Dodgers 0 — Through first inning

Top of the first: David Schneider hit a first-pitch home run to left field off Dodgers starter Blake Snell to give Toronto an immediate lead.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then hit a solo home run to left field on the second pitch he saw to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead and leave Dodger Stadium in a stunned silence.

It marked the first time a World Series game opened with back-to-back home runs. It was also the first time Snell had ever given up two home runs in the first inning of a game.

Snell struck out Bo Bichette before giving up a single to Alejandro Kirk. Daulton Varsho then grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base. He was initially called out on a 4-6-3 double play, but the call was reversed on review.

Two pitches later, Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw out Varsho on a stolen-base attempt after Tommy Edman just managed to apply the tag in time (call upheld on review).

Bottom of the first: Facing Toronto starter Trey Yesavage, Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first base. Will Smith flied out to left and Mookie Betts struck out on three pitches.

Lifetime Dodgers fan Jorge De La Cruz had his faith in the team tested this summer when the Trump administration began immigration raids across Southern California.

De La Cruz, among others, said he was disappointed the team was not more forceful in condemning the raids, especially given the fact that Latinos are such a big part of its fan base.

But here he was Tuesday night in front of the Greyhound Bar and Grill in Highland Park, an hour before the fourth game of the World Series began to make sure he got a good seat.

Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that, a day after throwing 93 pitches in a Game 4 loss, Shohei Ohtani could be a factor in the Dodgers’ pitching plan for Game 6 or 7.

The question: Will it be in relief, or as an opener?

Ohtani won’t be making a traditional start again this series. Even if he doesn’t pitch again until Game 7, that would be on only three days’ rest.

However, if the team uses him as an opener, it would come with an advantage: He could remain in the lineup, even after he exits the mound.

If the Dodgers were to use Ohtani in relief, it would almost assuredly have to be in an end-of-game situation. MLB’s two-way rules dictate that if Ohtani were to enter the game as a reliever, the team would lose him as a designated hitter once that relief appearance is done.

The Dodgers could engineer another way to keep him in the lineup in that scenario, but that would include having him play the outfield and losing the DH spot for the rest of the game. And even if he were pitching in a close-out situation, there would be complications over how the two-way star would warm up (given his spot in the batting order could come up).

Another potential advantage to using Ohtani as an opener — which would likely be in Game 7, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for the Game 6 start — is that it could give the team more flexibility with Tyler Glasnow, since he wouldn’t necessarily have to be saved to start Game 7.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Glasnow threw a bullpen session before Game 5 on Wednesday. That was notable, because it was three days before Game 7, as opposed to the customary two-day cushion most starters follow leading up to a start.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, Glasnow could be an option to use in some capacity in either Game 6 or 7.

Granted, team officials haven’t mapped out exact pitching plans for those contests yet. Their primary focus on Wednesday was getting through Game 5, and trying to take a series lead back to Canada later this week; one that could allow them to avoid a Game 7.

But if the series gets there, it figures to be all-hands on deck on the mound, from Ohtani to Glasnow to maybe even Game 5 starter Blake Snell (who would be on two days’ rest for a potential seventh game).

During most of this World Series, manager Dave Roberts said he had been contemplating a change to the Dodgers scuffling lineup.

After the team’s 6-2 loss in Game 4 on Tuesday, he said he was “going to think long and hard” about the batting order and hinted “it might look a little bit different tomorrow.”

Did it ever.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers announced a Game 5 lineup that included multiple notable changes. First, slumping shortstop Mookie Betts, who has hit just .147 over his last eight games, was dropped from the No. 2 to No. 3 spot, with catcher Will Smith bumping up to bat behind leadoff man Shohei Ohtani.

At the bottom of the order, Andy Pages was dropped to the bench after batting .080 this postseason, and was replaced by Alex Call in left field. Kiké Hernández shifted from left field to center.

“Getting Alex in there at the bottom, I felt that just the at-bat quality, seeing pitches, the potential to get somebody on base for Shohei at the top [would be better],” Roberts said. “And then as far as Mookie and Will, I just feel that that’s the best way to win the game tonight.”

The moves reflected the urgency of the Dodgers’ situation, in which they find themselves in a 2-2 World Series deadlock with the Toronto Blue Jays thanks in no small part to their .214 team batting average in the series.

“There’s a few of us that need to be successful,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “It can’t always just be Shohei. We understand that.”

Really, the Dodgers haven’t looked right at the plate since scoring 18 runs in the two-game wild-card round. Since then, they scored more than five runs in a game only once (and that came in Monday’s 18-inning marathon, when they had six). They batted .199 as a team in the NL Division Series, .250 in the NL Championship Series and have scored just three runs in the last 20 innings.

“If we’re going up there just trying to hit home runs, it’s just not the name of the game,” Freeman said, later adding: “I do think we just need to check down and have, like, almost a 0-1 mindset and just build innings, extend ‘em, work counts, be who we are. We are always a team that gets starters 70 to 90 pitches by the fourth and we got to do that again and just build innings, keep putting pressure on ‘em, and not have quick 1, 2, 3 innings.”

The struggles of Betts and Pages in particular have been costly, failing to provide an on-base threat in the nine-hole in front of Ohtani (who has had men on base in just six of his 22 plate appearances this series) or lineup protection behind him (with Betts batting just one for six this series following the Blue Jays’ walks to Ohtani).

“There’s some mechanical things,” Roberts said of Betts’ struggles. “But right now, all that matters is just going out there and taking four or five good at-bats. So all I’m concerned about is tonight, and I know that’s what’s on Mookie’s mind too.”

What’s different in the World Series this year? The New York Yankees are not here, and the Toronto Blue Jays are.

For Major League Baseball, that represents an opportunity.

On the eve of the World Baseball Classic, as the league attempts to grow its popularity around the world and considers sending its star players to the 2028 Olympics, the World Series ratings are encouraging.

You’d be forgiven for not remembering the trade.

On June 2 this year, the Dodgers were in need of pitching help. At the time, their rotation had been ravaged by injuries, and their bullpen was overworked and running low on depth. Thus, the morning after their relievers had been further taxed following a short start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the New York Yankees, the Dodgers went out and added a little-known pitcher in a deal with the Seattle Mariners.

Will Klein’s origin story had quietly begun.

Game 3 of the 2025 World Series was epic.

The Dodgers needed 54 outs before they finally walked off with a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the 18th inning for a 2-1 series lead.

This is a deep dive into one of those outs. It may seem relatively insignificant, considering all the other huge moments during the 6 hours 39 minutes it took to complete the instant classic at Dodger Stadium. But it was important in more ways than one.

Shohei Ohtani wore the same mask of calm that he always wears.

He spoke with detachment, as he often does.

By the time Ohtani walked into the interview room at Dodger Stadium after his team’s 6-2 defeat in Game 4 of the World Series, however, he was already devising his redemption.

“Of course, I’d like to prepare to be available for every game in case I’m needed,” Ohtani said in Japanese.

Hangover 4.

Have they made that movie yet? No? Well, they just did, at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, complete with headaches, nausea and the shaky feeling of impending doom.

Less than a day after an exhausting six-and-a-half hour, 18-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers curled up in the corner with a cold washcloth while the Jays smothered them with it.

After four games of this World Series, the Dodgers have the sweats while the Jays are fresh, feisty and very much alive, having pulled into a two-game-apiece tie after a 6-2 victory in a slog of a Game 4.

Certainly, both teams entered the night exhausted after the Dodgers’ 6-5 victory in the longest game in World Series history Monday night.

Late-night parties always come with a price.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers were reminded of the next-day cost.

Just 17 hours removed from their 18-inning marathon in Game 3 of the World Series, both the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays seemed to be playing at a slower, more sluggish pace early on Tuesday evening. Their offenses scuffled. Their starters pitched methodically. Their emotional batteries (and that of a capacity crowd at Dodger Stadium, for that matter) seemed to be in low-power mode.

Eventually, however, the team facing more desperation to save its season rallied and finally conjured life.

And with a 6-2 win in Game 4 at Chavez Ravine, the Blue Jays threw another wrench into this back-and-forth Fall Classic fight.

The Dodgers face the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT. The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 heading into the final game of the season at Dodger Stadium.

The game will be televised on Fox, Fox One and Fox Deportes. Radio broadcasts in the Los Angeles area will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español).

Here are the latest betting odds for Game 5 of the World Series:

Here’s the TV schedule for the rest of the series (all times Pacific):

Game 6: Friday, 5 p.m. at Toronto | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes

*Game 7: Saturday, 5 p.m. at Toronto | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes

* if necessary