blue jays suffer heartbreaking loss in game 7 of the world series
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los angeles catcher will smith celebrates the dodgers' 5-4 win over the toronto blue jays in game 7 of the world series as toronto's vladimir guerrero jr. walks off the field.
jack boland / postmedia
the toronto blue jays’ magical season ended in a heartbreaking 5-4 extra-inning loss to the los angeles dodgers in game 7 of the world series.
the blue jays were looking for their first world series title since 1993 when joe carter hit his historic walk-off homer against the philadelphia phillies.
instead, dodgers catcher will smith was the hero when he blasted a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning for the deciding run in the epic game.
friday night’s game 6 starter yoshinobu yamamoto closed out the win in a gutsy relief appearance to keep the blue jays from another comeback win. the jays led the majors with 49 comeback wins during the season.
yamamoto surrendered a lead-off double to vladimir guerrero and walked addison barger in the bottom of the 11th but snuffed out the jays’ last chance by getting alejandro kirk to ground into a double play.
yamamoto collected three wins in the series and was named world series mvp.
the dodgers became the first team to repeat as world series champion in 25 years.
the blue jays were two outs away from a championship when light-hitting miguel rojas stunned the toronto crowd when he lifted a hanging slider by closer jeff hoffman over the left-field fence to tie the game 4-4 in the ninth inning.
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“it’s supposed to end differently,” said hoffman in a post-game interview. “i cost everyone in here a world series ring.”
cody schultz, who made the journey to game 7 from dartmouth, said the tying homer silenced the crowd at rogers centre.
“you could hear a pin drop when the ball left the park, pure deflation,” said schultz.
toronto blue jays’ isiah kiner-falefa is forced out at home plater in the ninth inning by los angeles dodgers catcher will smith in game 7 on on saturday night.
jack boland/postmedia
the blue jays had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t cash in a run with the bases loaded and one out.
it was only the sixth time in major league history that game 7 of the world series went into extra innings.
schultz said the energy of the 44,713 fans at the rogers centre was an unbelievable experience.
“from the outside crowd to inside the rogers centre, what an electric night to be a part of. the place was rocking right till the end.”
bo bichette gave the blue jays early momentum when he crushed a three-run homer in the third inning off dodgers superstar shohei ohtani to open the scoring.
the jays would add one more run but squandered several opportunities as they left 14 men on base.
“to the fans, i say thank you. to the fans, i say i’m sorry,” blue jays manager john schneider said in a post-game television interview.
despite the loss, the blue jays established a post-season record by scoring 105 runs. jays third baseman ernie clement, one of their many unsung heroes during the season, also set a post-season record with 30 hits. in the world series, clement hit .387 (12-for-31).
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fans across the country watched the jays’ world series run in record numbers. rogers sportsnet averaged 6.4 million viewers through game 5.
however, a game 7 glitch had a large number of fans without their feed as the sportsnet+ streaming service went down.
fans across the country took to social media to congratulate the blue jays on their amazing season, including prime minister mark carney.
“congratulations to the blue jays for a tremendous season and for battling right till the end. you made all of canada proud,” carney wrote on x.
kody blois, mp for kings-hants, said the blue jays made canada proud.
“absolutely sick for the toronto blue jays but couldn’t be prouder of their run. you made canada proud every night,” blois said in a facebook post.
the blue jays thanked the fans in a facebook post following the crushing loss.
“it was a magical ride with all of you. our city, our home, our fans showed up on the grand stage … and we couldn’t be prouder.”
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