The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the World Series having lost just once this postseason and relying on a dominant starting rotation, but that was upended by the Toronto Blue Jays in their 11-4 win.
Blake Snell was not nearly as sharp nor dominant like during earlier starts in the postseason, and he could only reach the sixth inning before exiting without recording an out.
Snell had a particularly laborious first inning that saw him throw 29 pitches and the Blue Jays load the bases. He managed to escape the jam and keep the game scoreless by retiring Daulton Varsho.
Nothing came of a leadoff single in the second inning as the Blue Jays ran into a third out, and Snell benefitted from a double play to have a quick third inning.
Snell’s lack of fastball command proved costly in the fourth as Varsho ambushed the first pitch he saw for a game-tying, two-run home run. It represented the first home run Snell allowed to a left-handed batter all year, both the regular season and playoffs.
That marked the beginning of the game spiraling on Snell as a walk, single and hit by pitch loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth inning.
The Dodgers turned to Emmet Sheehan, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Ernie Clement and walked a run in. Andrés Giménez’s base hit extended the Blue Jays’ lead to 5-2. The appearance was Sheehan’s first since Oct. 9.
Going to Anthony Banda with one out did not provide any relief, with pinch-hitter Addison Barger breaking the game open on a grand slam. It represented the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.
Alejandro Kirk added a two-run homer off Banda for good measure. Kirk finished 3-for-3 with one walk.
Dodgers hurt by missed opportunities
The Dodgers remained plagued by an inability to come up with a knockout hit off Trey Yesavage and could only settle for marginal production in key moments.
Will Smith’s leadoff walk and Max Muncy’s single put runners on the corners with one out in the second inning. Kiké Hernández, who tied the Dodgers postseason record for most games played by appearing in the World Series opener, lined an RBI single up the middle to put L.A. ahead.
Tommy Edman’s swinging bunt loaded the bases, but Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani couldn’t capitalize.
In the third inning, back-to-back walks by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman set the table for Will Smith’s RBI single that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0. Freeman was caught in a rundown, which left Smith at second base and one out, rather than runners at the corners with nobody out.
Yesavage then found his release point and held the Dodgers to just the two runs over four innings.
Shohei Ohtani’s first World Series home run came in the seventh inning and only trimmed the Dodgers’ deficit to seven runs.
The Dodgers fell to 1-12 on the road in Game 1 of a World Series. Their lone win came in 1963.
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