The odds were stacked against a team making its first World Series appearance in 32 years. Their opponent came in loaded with talent, two championships in five years, and votes of confidence from all around, including Skip Bayless. Yet, against all expectations, the Blue Jays delivered an 11-4 victory in Game 1, although a little lopsided. And now, whether he likes it or not, the broadcaster has to give at least some credit where it’s due.

After the win, Bayless wrote on X, “The vaunted Dodgers are getting Dodgered by the hopeless underdogs in Toronto.” 

Well, it’s not exactly the kind of praise you’d give to a team that handed the Dodgers a blowout loss like that. But considering what the sports broadcaster had posted on X when Toronto won the AL pennant: “Congrats to the Toronto Blue Jays for winning the right to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers,” this is still something. Just as it should be if you know what the odds were. 

Los Angeles opened the scoring early, taking advantage of rookie Trey Yesavage’s nerves. Enrique Hernández and Will Smith delivered RBI singles, giving the Dodgers a brief lead. Despite the initial pressure, the 22-year-old right-hander, making only his fourth postseason start, settled in. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second and stranded another runner in the third, showing flashes of composure under the bright lights of Rogers Centre. But then, Toronto began its comeback in the fourth inning.

Alejandro Kirk singled off the right-field wall, and Daulton Varsho followed with a 423-foot homer to center off Blake Snell, snapping a streak in which Snell hadn’t allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter in nearly five months. The Blue Jays had erased the early deficit and gace the first sign of not going home without a win. The game turned decisively in the sixth inning. 

Bo Bichette, returning from a seven-week knee injury, walked to start the frame. Kirk followed with a single, and Varsho was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Ernie Clement’s RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Nathan Lukes put Toronto ahead, and Andrés Giménez added another RBI single to make it 5–2. When reliever Anthony Banda replaced Emmet Sheehan, Addison Barger crushed a hanging slider for a grand slam, the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Moments later, Kirk added his fourth postseason homer, cementing the inning as one of the most explosive in October history.

Shohei Ohtani briefly sparked the Dodgers in the seventh with a two-run homer off Braydon Fisher, but the deficit was too large to overcome. Toronto’s fans even chanted “We don’t need you!” during Ohtani’s ninth-inning at-bat, echoing the home team’s dominance thus far.

Blake Snell finished with five runs and eight hits over five-plus innings. Seranthony Domínguez earned the win with 1⅓ hitless innings in relief, while Yesavage struck out five in four solid frames. Toronto totaled 14 hits, including three from Kirk and two from Bichette, who returned to second base for the first time since 2019.

The Dodgers, despite having the highest payroll in baseball (close to $400 million), looked out of rhythm after a weeklong layoff following their National League Championship Series sweep. Their bid for a third title in six years now depends on rediscovering form quickly, while Toronto has set the tone for a series that could rewrite expectations in October.

Toronto’s confidence at home: Staying sharp after a big win

After the first game, manager John Schneider made it clear how he felt: “I think that there’s a lot of firsts for a lot of these guys, myself included, staff included. I want them to enjoy it.” Schneider added, “Again, I think players are going to feel things that they haven’t felt before.”

“Once you get that initial kind of shock and awe off you, I think that this team is really good about focusing on what they need to do. So we’ll see.” Schneider further elaborated on the mindset heading into the next game.

He continued, “Again, I’m going to take on a few seconds to enjoy it. I’m sure they will. And then when you get into compete mode, hopefully it slows down a little bit. But it is going to be a pretty electric atmosphere here tomorrow.”

The Dodgers are now up against a squad at home that is both ready and energized. Los Angeles needs to get serious if they want to preserve the dominant power in their hands for Game 2. Toronto, on the other hand, needs to stay in charge, play as well as they did in Game 1, and not let their confidence turn into complacency. Schneider’s message resonates: celebrate briefly, then refocus. Three wins remain between the Blue Jays’ dream of clinching the ring after 32 years.