It may hurt for Blue Jays fans but the 2025 World Series was one of the best ever

The Toronto Blue Jays' magical 2025 season came to an end in the most heartbreaking possible fashion. After being up 4-3 with one out in the ninth inning of Game 7, the Blue Jays fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 in the eleventh inning. Being so close, the loss will sting for a long time. Still, the Blue Jays were a part of one of the greatest World Series in history.

The seven-game epic between the Blue Jays and the Dodgers captivated the baseball world and set multiple records. Although the Blue Jays lost, fans were treated to some incredible baseball.

The series had everything: record-breaking batting, exceptional pitching, an 18-inning thriller, a ball getting lodged in the wall, and the benches clearing in Game 7, which also went to extra innings. Any one of these would be the defining moment in most World Series. This year had them all.

Game 1 (11-4 Blue Jays win): A Grand Entrance

Bo Bichette returned to the Blue Jays lineup for the first time since September 6 in Game 1, picking up a single in his first at-bat. He also made his major league debut at second base, becoming the fourth player ever to debut in a new fielding spot during the postseason.

Bichette also walked to start what would become a very productive sixth inning for the Blue Jays. Alejandro Kirk hit a single. Daulton Varsho was hit by a pitch, ending Blake Snell's night. He was replaced by Emmet Sheehan, who then gave up an RBI single to Ernie Clement, giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. Nathan Lukes drew a walk to make it 4-2, before Andrés Giménez hit an RBI single to make it 5-2.

Addison Barger came to the plate as a pinch hitter. The Dodgers replaced Sheehan with Anthony Banda. Barger, fresh off a night spent on Davis Schneider's pull-out couch, hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. The Blue Jays led 9-2

If that wasn't enough, Kirk added a two-run homer that same inning to make it 11-2. The nine runs were the most by a team in one inning since the Detroit Tigers scored 10 in 1968 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Game 2 (5-1 Dodgers win): A Pitching Masterclass

A lot of Blue Jays fans would probably be content if they never heard the name Yoshinobu Yamamoto ever again. In Game 2, Yamamoto became the first pitcher since Curt Schilling in 2001 to throw consecutive complete games in the postseason.

The Dodgers evened the series with a 5-1 win. That's despite a very strong outing from Kevin Gausman, who, after giving up a run in the first inning, retired 17 straight Dodgers. That ended in the seventh inning when Gausman gave up a home run to Will Smith. Another home run by Max Muncy two batters later ended Gausman's night.

Game 3 (6-5 (18) Dodgers win): The Marathon

Game 3 tied the record for the longest World Series game in history. Max Scherzer started for the Blue Jays, becoming the first pitcher to pitch for four different teams in the World Series. The Blue Jays fell behind 2-0 early, following home runs by Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani. In the fourth, however, Kirk put the Blue Jays ahead with a three-home run. Giménez added another with a sac fly.

The Dodgers managed to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth after an RBI double by Ohtani and an RBI single by Freddie Freeman. But the Blue Jays regained the lead in the top of the seventh after a single by Bichette allowed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score from first.

Ohtani tied the game again with his second home run of the night in the bottom of the seventh. With two home runs and two doubles, he became the second player in MLB history to record four extra-base hits in a World Series game. The only other person to accomplish the feat was Frank Isbell in 1906. It would take 11 innings for another run to score.

Both teams failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position. Clayton Kershaw made his only appearance in this World Series, forcing Lukes into a groundout with the bases loaded and two outs in the twelfth inning. Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners. The Blue Jays walked Ohtani five times, four intentionally, which is a MLB record. Toronto used nine pitchers, while L.A. used 10.

In the end, Freeman ended the game with a walk-off home run in the 18th inning. After six hours and 39 minutes, the Dodgers took a 2-1 series lead with the 6-5 win. The game tied Game 3 of the 2018 World Series for the longest in history by number of innings. The Dodgers also won that marathon game against the Boston Red Sox, although on that occasion it was Max Muncy who hit a walk-off home run for L.A..

Game 4 (6-2 Blue Jays win): The Comeback Kids

A loss like the one the Blue Jays suffered in Game 3 could be demoralizing. The 2025 Blue Jays, however, seemed to thrive in those situations. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning off a sac fly by Enriqué Hernandez. But in the next inning, Guerrero hit a two-run home run to put the Blue ahead 2-1.

It was Guerrero's seventh home run of the postseason, making him the lone franchise leader in career playoff home runs. It was also the fourth time during the playoffs that the Blue Jays had hit a go-ahead home run while trailing, yet another record.

The Blue Jays tacked on four more runs in the seventh inning, putting the game out of reach for the Dodgers and evening the series. With their 54th comeback win of the season, and fifth of the playoffs, the Blue Jays ensured the World Series would end in Toronto.

Game 5 (6-1 Blue Jays win): Rookie Numbers

Game 5 could not have started better for the Blue Jays. On the very first pitch of the game, Schneider hit a solo home run off of Blake Snell. It was Schneider's first hit of the World Series and his first home run since September 11. Even better, his family was there to capture the moment.

If that wasn't enough, Guerrero hit a solo shot of his own two pitches later. It was the first time in World Series history that a team had hit back-to-back home runs to start a game. Three pitches in, it was already 2-0 for the Blue Jays. While the Jays would add four more runs, Guerrero's home run was enough to secure the win for the Blue Jays.

While the home run heroics were exciting, they paled in comparison to the pitching heroics displayed by 22-year-old Trey Yesavage. Before Game 5, Yesavage was already one of the best stories of the Blue Jays' season. In 2025, he played every level in the minor leagues before making his big league debut in September. Game 5 of the World Series was his eighth MLB appearance.

Over seven innings, Yesavage struck out 12 batters, managing to get each Dodger at least once. He set an all-time rookie record for strikeouts in a World Series game, beating Don Newcombe's record of 11 with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949.

He also became the second pitcher ever to strike out at least 10 batters within the first five innings, joining Sandy Koufax. He's also the only pitcher to do that twice in the same postseason. Even better, he got all those strikeouts without recording a walk, which is, once again, a World Series record. With his incredible start, the Blue Jays were one win away from winning the World Series.

Game 6 (3-1 Dodgers win): Never Seen that Before

If you ever think you've seen everything there is to see in baseball, just wait. Case in point: Game 6 of the World Series. The Blue Jays came into the game with a chance to win it all. But after another impressive start from Yamamoto, the Blue Jays trailed 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Kirk was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Myles Straw came in as a pinch runner. Barger came to the plate against Dodgers closer Roki Sasaki. He hit the ball deep to centre field. Straw came in to score. Barger followed behind. The crowd erupted, thinking the Blue Jays had tied the game off an inside-the-park home run.

If that seems too good to be true, it's because it was. The ball had become lodged under the padding of the centre field wall. The play was called dead. It was a ground-rule double. Barger went back to second, and Straw retreated to third.

Still, the Blue Jays had two runners in scoring position and no outs. Clement popped out. Giménez then lined out to Hernandez in left field, who threw to second to double off Barger and send the series to Game 7.

Game 7 (5-4 Dodgers win): Heartbreak for Toronto

At 41 years old, Scherzer became the oldest pitcher to start in Game 7 of the World Series. He did a good job for the Blue Jays, going 4.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits.

Everything seemed to be going the Blue Jays' way when Bichette hit a three-run home run in the third inning to put Toronto up 3-0. It was Bichette's first home run of the postseason, and for a while, it seemed destined to be the defining moment of the game.

In the bottom of the eighth, Clement got his third hit of the night, setting a record for the most hits in a single postseason with 30. He also set a Blue Jays record for the longest postseason hit streak at 13 games. His 10 multi-hit games were another MLB playoff record. His 22 singles are another postseason record.

Adding to that, the Blue Jays set a record for the most runs in a single postseason with 105. Barger also tied the record for the most multi-hit games in the World Series with six, including going 2-4 in Game 7.

The Blue Jays entered the ninth inning holding onto a 4-3 lead, three outs away from winning the World Series. Jeff Hoffman struck out Hernández. One down, two to go. Up came the nine-hole-hitter Miguel Rojas. Rojas hit a solo shot to left field to tie the game, one of only two hits for him during the postseason.

The Blue Jays came to the plate with a chance to walk it off to win the World Series. After Guerrero flied out to centre field, Bichette hit a single and was replaced by Isaiah Kiner-Falefa. Barger walked. In came Yamamoto to pitch for the Dodgers, one day after he threw 96 pitches in Game 6. The first batter he faced was Kirk, whom he hit. Bases loaded, one out, bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series.

Varsho hit a ground ball to Rojas. Kiner-Falefa came home. Will Smith briefly took his foot off the plate to catch the throw from Rojas, but he got his foot back on the corner of the plate in time. The game was still tied.

It's the kind of play that will stick in the minds of Blue Jays fans for years to come. What if Kiner-Falefa had taken a slightly larger lead? What if he had dove head first instead of diving feet first? What if he had run through the plate?

The Blue Jays still had the bases loaded, with two outs in the ninth. Clement hit a fly ball out to deep left field. Hernandez was chasing it, as was Andy Pages. The ball looked like it was going to drop. The two collided, but Pages still managed to make the catch. For the sixth time in World Series history, Game 7 was headed to extra innings.

The Blue Jays escaped a bases-loaded jam in the tenth, but in the eleventh, Smith hit a solo home run to give the Dodgers the lead. The Blue Jays had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Kirk came to the plate with runners on first and third with one out. But, he hit into a broken bat double play. For the third time in history, the World Series ended on a double play. The Blue Jays' magical season was over. The Dodgers had repeated as World Series champions.

The 2025 World Series delivered everything baseball has to offer. It was a hard-fought battle between both teams. While it ended in heartbreak for the Blue Jays, it was a series that will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.