The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series for the second year in a row after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings in Game 7. Tension was high at Rogers Centre in the ninth inning, when Toronto led by one run and was three outs away from its third Fall Classic ring.
When the Dodgers were playing for all the marbles, Miguel Rojas became the hero by tying the score with a home run over the left field that forced the Blue Jays’ offense to bat in the bottom of the ninth, where a play occurred that could have changed the history of the World Series.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the play that could have changed the history of the 2025 World Series
Toronto had the chance to turn the World Series around in the bottom of the ninth inning, when they loaded the bases in an attack that promised to put an end to the 2025 MLB season. Kiner-Falefa came on as a pinch runner in place of Bo Bichette and was on third base when Daulton Varsho came to bat.
The American batter failed to connect properly and hit a grounder to second base that was quickly picked up by Miguel Rojas and thrown to the plate to force out Kiner-Falefa after Will Smith left his foot at home and stretched despite Isiah’s efforts in his sweep. The play was reviewed by the umpires and confirmed to go to extra innings in the championship decider.
What did Kiner-Falefa say after the forced out at home that could have given them their third World Series ring?
The replay showed conservative baserunning by Falefa, as he was very close to the third base, something that may have influenced him not to reach home plate and therefore the game went into extra innings. In light of this situation, Kinder broke his silence on his actions:
They told us to stay close to the base. They don’t want us to get out in that situation with a hard line drive… They wanted a smaller lead and a smaller secondary lead, so that’s what I did.
The play could have changed the outlook, however, the Dodgers wanted to make history, being the first team in 25 years to win two consecutive World Series. In 2024 against the New York Yankees winning in five games and now against the Toronto Blue Jays, a clash of titans that needed seven games to define the champion and where Los Angeles showed once again that they are a team that punishes mistakes and has the ability to solve when things get complicated.
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