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TORONTO — It was a game that started on Saturday and ended on Sunday, a World Series contest so packed with the rare, the historic and the dramatic that it couldn’t possibly be confined to one day.
At 11 innings, it was the longest Game 7 this century, and it equaled the longest in more than a century. It was the first Game 7 that had a ninth-inning home run to tie the score and the first to feature two video reviews that prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.
“It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 to win its second straight World Series and end the longest season in franchise history, one that began in Japan and ended in Canada.
In an 11-inning thriller, the Dodgers rallied behind home runs from Miguel Rojas and Will Smith to defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 of the World Series.
The victory made the Dodgers the first team to win back-to-back titles in 25 years and with that championship, Roberts’ third, he passed Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda to become the second-most-decorated Dodgers manager. He now trails only Walter Alston, another Hall of Famer, who won four World Series with the team.
Roberts, however, won his three titles over six seasons, something no other Dodgers skipper did.
“It’s hard to reconcile that one,” said Roberts, whose jersey from Saturday’s game is on its way to Cooperstown, joining the cap the Hall of Fame requested after last year’s World Series win.
“I’m just really elated and really proud of our team, our guys, the way we fought. We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in decades. There was so many pressure points and how that game could have flipped, and we just kept fighting, and guys stepped up big.”
So did the manager. Every move Roberts made worked, every button he pushed was the right one.
Miguel Rojas, starting for the second time in nearly a month, saved the season twice: first with a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth, then with an off-balance throw home to prevent the winning run in the bottom half. Andy Pages, inserted in center for defensive purposes in the bottom of the ninth, ran down Ernie Clements’ drive at the wall with the bases loaded to send the game to extra innings.
Roberts went to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in relief in the bottom of the ninth, despite the fact his ace had thrown 96 pitches the day before, and in the 11th had him pitch around Toronto’s Addison Barger, putting the potential winning run on base. But that set up the game-ending double play three pitches later.
“Credit to him, man. Every single move he did this postseason was incredible,” said Tyler Glasnow, one of four starting pitchers Roberts used in relief Saturday. And he had a fifth, Clayton Kershaw, warming up when the game ended.
Added Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson: “He did some coaching tonight. This was a great manager’s game from him. He’s proven how great a manager he is. He’s a Hall of Famer.”
Perhaps Roberts’ boldest move was to ask Yamamoto, who pitched six innings Friday to win Game 6, to not only pitch again but throw another 2-2/3 innings in Game 7. It worked; Yamamoto won that game too and sealed most-valuable-player honors.
The Dodgers’ 2025 championship parade starts at 11 am. on Monday and runs through downtown, followed by a rally at Dodger Stadium.
“What Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern-day baseball,” said Roberts, who came into the postgame interview room wearing ski goggles and dripping with champagne. “It just goes down to just trusting your players. It’s nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number’s going to be called.”
And Roberts needed all 26 guys. Although the Dodgers wore T-shirts with the slogan “We Rule October” when they mounted a makeshift stage in the center of the Rogers Centre field to celebrate their victory early Sunday, October was only part of it. Their year started in Tokyo in March and ended in Toronto in November, making it the first major league season to begin and end outside the U.S.
“We really extended the season,” Max Muncy, whose eighth-inning homer jump-started the Dodgers’ comeback, said with a grin after the team’s 179th game.
“Look back at the miles that we’ve logged this year,” Roberts said. “We never wavered. It’s a long season and we persevered, and we’re the last team standing.”
That too is a credit to Roberts, who has made the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons and went to the World Series five times, trailing only Alston among Dodgers managers. His .621 regular-season winning percentage is best in franchise history among managers who worked more than three seasons. And he figures to keep padding those records.
“We’ve put together something pretty special,” said Roberts, who celebrated with family on the field. “I’m proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable.
Plaschke: Back to back! Dodgers nab dynasty-defining victory over Blue Jays in World Series Game 7
From the doom of a World Series Game 7 sucker punch, two outs from defeat, the Dodgers roared back to steal an 11-inning victory for their second consecutive World Series title.
“I guess I’ll let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not. But I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.”
On Sunday morning Glasnow, who missed the playoffs last year because of an elbow injury, was pretty happy as well.
“To be a part of the World Series is crazy,” he said, standing just off the infield as blue and gold confetti rained down. “You dream about it as a kid. To live it out, I feel so lucky. This group of guys, I’m so close to everyone. So many good people on this team. It’s just the perfect group of guys.”
The perfect manager too.
Highlights from the Dodgers’ 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series.
