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Will Smith blasts Game 7 11th-inning home run
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- Will Smith blasts Game 7 11th-inning home run
The post Will Smith blasts Game 7 11th-inning home run appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the New York Yankees 25 years ago. It appeared the Toronto Blue Jays had the upper hand in Saturday's winner-take-all finale. Closer Jeff Hoffman entered with a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning. But Miguel Rojas tied Game 7 with a solo homer to left field.
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The Blue Jays couldn't answer in the bottom of the ninth and the game went to extra innings. With Shane Bieber on the mound for Toronto in the 11th inning, Will Smith played the hero for Los Angeles .
Smith worked the count to 2-0 before blasting an 84 mph slider over the left field wall. The go-ahead home run sucked the air out of Rogers Centre as Blue Jays fans fell silent and the Dodgers' dugout erupted with joy.
Will Smith hits World Series-winning home run
Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
The Dodgers took the lead on the All-Star catcher's second homer of the postseason. And the instant classic shot would end up being the World Series winner.
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Game 6 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto had already pitched 1.2 innings on Saturday. But with the Dodgers' bullpen depleted, he came back out for the 11th hoping to protect LA's one-run lead. Yamamoto threw 96 pitches on Friday and the second-year starter tossed another 34 in relief during Game 7.
However, Yamamoto ran into trouble in the 11th inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and, after a sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to third, Yamamoto walked Addison Barger . Toronto had runners on the corners but the Dodgers' ace got out of the jam. The slowest Blue Jay, Alejandro Kirk , slapped a grounder to short. Mookie Betts stepped on second base and fired to first, completing the game-ending double play.
Yamamoto gave up one hit and one walk in 2.2 scoreless innings, earning his second straight Fall Classic victory. And Smith's clutch 11th-inning homer proved the difference in Game 7 as the Dodgers won the 2025 World Series.
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