Unfathomable. Unwatchable. Insufferable.
Undone.
The richest staff in baseball is splitting aside on the seams, tearing beneath stress, fraying past recognition, accumulating on the ground of the 2025 baseball season in heaping piles of disappointment.
Quickly, the supposedly biggest assortment of gamers in Dodgers historical past could possibly be historical past.
Quickly, in a foreign country and seemingly in one other actuality, the Dodgers may lose the World Sequence to the Toronto Blue Jays, a hearty band of overachievers who took a three-games-to-two lead Wednesday with a workmanlike 6-1 Recreation 5 victory at Dodger Stadium.
The collection now strikes to Toronto’s Rogers Centre for the ultimate two video games, if essential, starting Friday, and the previous heavy favorites at the moment are the determined underdogs. The Dodgers not solely must win each video games on the American League’s hardest dwelling discipline, however they’ll have to take action in opposition to a seemingly destined and strongly bonded franchise making an attempt to win its first title in 32 years.
Not that Toronto is hungry for a title, however the Rogers Centre not too long ago stuffed with 30,000 followers to look at the World Sequence… on tv.
“We understand what it means to the city and the country, and I think it’s just remarkable,” stated Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider. “There’s watch parties and then there’s watch parties, you know. That was awesome.”
He added, “We’re thrilled that we’re going back there to play… the fans kind of become a part of you, and you want to kind of do that for them too.”
The Blue Jays are the Glue Jays.
The Dodgers are in items.
The Blue Jays grew to become the primary staff in World Sequence historical past to open a recreation with back-to-back dwelling runs Wednesday in opposition to Dodger ace Blake Snell, then battled and brittled their strategy to one other run within the fourth, two extra within the seventh, and one other within the eighth.
The Dodgers may solely handle a Kiké Hernández dwelling run in seven innings in opposition to Jays rookie Trey Yesavage, after which stumbled into the night time.
Yesavage set a World Sequence rookie file with 12 strikeouts. The Dodgers set some kind of file for embarrassment with three wild pitches within the decisive seventh.
The Blue Jays made each robust defensive play look straightforward in shutting down each offensive risk. The Dodgers allowed the Jays to attain their third run after a horrible right-field play in a season filled with them, courtesy of Teoscar Hernández.
In the long run, the followers booed and the stands emptied and the staff moved to the verge of arguably the largest disappointment in franchise historical past. After profitable the 2024 World Sequence championship, after spending round $500 million this winter to enhance their roster and create the richest staff in baseball historical past, after rolling by way of the primary three rounds of this autumn’s playoffs trying unbeatable… they’re getting ready to being crushed by a staff that may be going from final place to first place whereas being populated by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and a bunch of nameless grinders.
“The series is almost over!” sang one loud spectator late Wednesday. “The series is almost over!”
Virtually?
Snell, who gave up 5 runs in 5 innings in his first World Sequence begin in opposition to the Jays, uncomfortably picked up the place he left off.
First pitch of the sport, a fats fastball, Davis Schneider drives it 373 toes over the left-field fence for a shocking dwelling run for a platoon man batting .188 within the playoffs.
Third pitch of the sport, one other fats fastball, Guerrero Jr. blasts it 394 toes over the left-field fence, not so shocking for a man with eight homers within the playoffs.
After Yesavage had retired the primary seven Dodger hitters, Kiké Hernández lastly bit again by driving a 1-and-1 fastball 407 toes into the left-field pavilion for a house run that closed the hole to 2-1.
However within the fourth, proper fielder Teoscar Hernández inexplicably dived in entrance of a Daulton Varsho blooper and turned it right into a triple. Ernie Clement adopted with a flyout to heart discipline to attain Varsho.
It felt like the sport ended there. However then it acquired worse within the seventh, when Snell departed after yielding a stroll and a single whereas recording two outs.
Rookie Edgardo Henriquez — what was he doing within the recreation? — walked Guerrero on a wild pitch that scored a run. Bo Bichette then singled to attain a second run, the inning ending with the Jays main 5-1.
So as to add insult, within the backside of the seventh, Edman ruined a rally for the second time within the recreation by grounding right into a double play.
And to assume, earlier than the sport the Dodgers pulled out all of the pregame stops.
Keith Williams Jr. sang the nationwide anthem. Magic Johnson threw out the primary pitch. Anthony Anderson did the honors of shouting, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
There have been much more bells and whistles on the lineup card, as Roberts made his first main renovations of the postseason.
Andy Pages, hitting .080 for the postseason with a .215 OPS that’s the lowest in historical past for any participant with not less than 50 plate appearances?
Benched.
Mookie Betts, hitting .158 within the postseason with no homers or RBIs and constant failure to make opponents pay for deliberately strolling Shohei Ohtani?
Moved down within the batting order from second to 3rd for the primary time in 4 years.
Will Smith, with one postseason homer and 4 RBIs? Moved as much as the second slot behind Ohtani.
The brand new outfielder? The energy-driven Alex Name.
“I think in the postseason, you’ve got to be a little bit more reactive than the regular season,” stated Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “When I netted out the value of what I feel gives us the best chance to win today.”
It wasn’t sufficient.
The winner of Recreation 5 of a tied baseball collection wins the collection 67 p.c of the time.
A Dodger staff that earlier backed up the Brinks Truck is now formally on the brink.
