by Mark Langill
And now it hopefully begins — the greatest comeback in Dodger World Series history.
Left for dead after losing the two games at home that would’ve clinched their second consecutive championship, the deflated Los Angeles crew trudged back to the Canadian border, bracing for the decibel level to screech at a fever pitch at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
The Dodgers, carrying great expectations since their first February workout in Spring Training in Arizona and first regular-season game in Tokyo, now have the actual distance of the finish line.
Two wins.
And it would have to go like this: The often ominous and perennial contending franchise suddenly woke up at the right time and delivered the knockout punch in the 12th and final round.
So Hollywood?
So what?
The Dodgers might as well embrace their perceived underdog roles following Wednesday’s 6–1 loss in Game 5 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers travel today for Game 6 on Friday, followed by a potential Game 7 on Saturday.
The sellout crowd in the Dodgers’ final home game was quickly muted when the Blue Jays became the first team to open a World Series with consecutive home runs, courtesy of Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on Wednesday.
Veteran lefty Blake Snell, who was near-perfect in the National League Championship Series at Milwaukee, yielded the pitching spotlight to an October rookie phenom who gave Toronto a 3–2 series lead.
Right-hander Trey Yesavage, who began the season at Toronto’s Low-A Dunedin affiliate affiliate and wasn’t promoted to the Majors until mid-September, has rewritten the World Series history books at age 22.
Yesavage struck out 12 and walked none in seven innings while allowing one run on three hits. He became the first rookie since the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe in 1949 against the New York Yankees to strike out at least 10 batters in a World Series game.
If the Dodgers win their ninth championship, they will have to win Games 6 and 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history. And the road has been kind to the Dodgers in potential clinching games on the road.
Excluding 2020, when the Fall Classic was staged on the neutral Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, six of the seven titles were won on the road in New York (1955, 1981, 2024), Chicago (1959), Minnesota (1965) and Oakland (1988).
The only title clinched at Dodger Stadium was Game 4 of in 1963 when Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax beat the Yankees’ Whitey Ford 2–1 to cap a sweep of the Bronx Bombers.
Now it’s Game 6 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s chance to finalize his place among the franchise’s postseason legends.
He is the first Dodger pitcher with two consecutive complete games in a postseason since Orel Hershiser in the 1988 World Series.
Assuming the script is followed for Game 6, what could possibly happen in a winner-take-all Game 7?
In any event, the Dodgers are seeking a true Hollywood ending.
In Canada, of course.
2025 World Series: Dodgers aim for ‘happily ever after’ storyline was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.