The road to becoming the first repeat World Champion in 25 years was not a smooth one for the Dodgers, who captured their ninth championship in franchise history when they beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in an 11-inning Game 7 for the ages.
After winning nine of their first 10 postseason contests, the Dodgers had to go through a seven-game World Series series that included two overtime wins — one in 18 innings — and back-to-back home losses that put their season on the brink.
But in the end, the Dodgers walked away with their second straight championship and third in six seasons. How did they make that happen? Here are some of the moments that fueled the Dodgers’ run to another World Series victory.
Great escape, with wheel man
Mookie Betts floated the idea of running a bullpen as the Dodgers tried to hold on for dear life in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Ballpark. In honor of executing the basics, Max Muncy pounced on a bunt and Betts tagged the lead runner at third base to help the Dodgers survive the ninth inning and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Ohtani’s famous performance
A look at Shohei Ohtani’s three home runs in Game 4 of the NLCS.
Based on the first inning alone, Shohei Ohtani could have had a memorable performance in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting three straight home runs after a walk-off as the Dodgers’ starting pitcher and then coming home as his team’s leadoff hitter to take an early lead. But Ohtani homered twice more — including a 469-foot blast over the right field wing — and went on to strike out 10 in six innings to help the Dodgers secure their second straight NL pennant.
Another complete game from Yamamoto
Yoshinobu Yamamoto had already thrown a complete game in Game 2 of the NLCS, the first for a Dodgers pitcher since José Lima in 2004. But Yamamoto entered an even more rarefied atmosphere when he threw another complete game in Game 2 of the World Series in a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays — becoming the first Dodger to throw consecutive complete games of the postseason since Orel Hershiser in 1988.
Kershaw moment
The pain and heartbreak in Clayton Kershaw’s postseason history is well known, and the Dodger Stadium crowd prepared as he entered Game 3 of the World Series with the bases loaded and two outs in the 12th inning. In an eight-pitch battle with Jays’ Nathan Lux, Kershaw whipped up a soft groundout to second baseman Tommy Edman that he had to charge and scoop with his glove to first baseman Freddie Freeman to escape the jam.
Will Klein game
With Game 3 of the World Series in the 15th inning, the Dodgers turned to Will Cline, the final reliever in their bullpen — although Yamamoto would later prepare for a potential 19th inning pitch. Klein, who was acquired by the Dodgers in a minor trade on June 2, threw 72 pitches — the most he ever threw as a pro — over four scoreless innings to keep the Dodgers in it.
Freeman, Walking Sequel
In a World Series 3 game that featured 19 pitchers, 25 position players, 609 runs thrown and 153 trips to the plate, it was something familiar that the Dodgers won in the 18th inning: Freeman’s home run. A year and two days after his grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, Freeman hit a solo shot to center field to lift the Dodgers to a 6-5 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Kiki Hernandez, October champion
Left-hander Kiki Hernandez added another chapter to his legacy in October in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 as the Dodgers try to maintain a 3-1 lead and keep their season alive. With runners on second and third and one out, Hernandez played shallow and was in good position to make a sinking line catch by Andres Jimenez before launching a throw to second baseman Miguel Rojas, who caught it on a bounce to double the runner on second and force a Game 7.
Miguel Rojas is the hero of the ninth inning
Rojas became the focal point of the ninth inning in Game 7 when he came to bat with the Dodgers trailing 4-3 and two outs away from losing the World Series. Rojas, who had one homer since the All-Star break, took a full count before hitting a game-tying shot to left field. In the bottom of the inning, with the bases loaded and the pitch in with one out, Rojas fielded a clean fielder and fired a bunt to force a runner out at home and preserve the tie.
hunting
One batter later and with the bases still loaded, it was Andy Pages’ turn to be the defensive hero. Pages was inserted into the middle of the inning in center field for his strong arm, and found himself using his legs to cover a lot of ground on a deep fly ball to left-center that Hernandez was trying to catch over his shoulder before hitting Pages as the center fielder secured the ball to take the game to extra innings.
Will Smith, home run champion
As Game 7 entered the 11th inning, it was catcher Will Smith who was in the right place at the right time. Smith, who returned to the lineup after suffering a hairline fracture in his right hand in September, homered in a 2-0 slider for his second home run of the Series to put the Dodgers ahead for the first time in the game.
Yamamoto with an exclamation mark
Entering Game 7 during a ninth-inning jam that Rojas and Pages helped him escape, Yamamoto retired the Jays in order in the 10th and then worked around a leadoff double in the 11th, hitting a sacrifice bunt and then walking a batter before inducing a double play to seal the Dodgers’ repeat championship. For Yamamoto in the World Series, the final tally was three wins, the last a relief after throwing 96 pitches the night before in Game 6, and an MVP award.
