The Demain Playbook #4: Never Count Out a Comeback

The Fall Classic, one of the most storied championship series in sports, came down to a dramatic Game 7. This year, the only Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, faced the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers. The seven-game series was a battle of titans, with the teams splitting the first six games. 

Game 7 went 11 innings and featured four home runs — three from the Dodgers. In the top of the ninth, the Blue Jays had a 91% chance of winning. 

In the top of the 11th, Dodgers’ Will Smith hit a deep right-field home run to take the lead. The Blue Jays' first basemen, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., followed with a double, and a sacrifice bunt pushed him to third. His teammate, Addison Barger, walked, but with one out, Alejandro Kirk hit into a game-winning double play, securing the World Series for the Dodgers in a 5-4 game. 

The series also featured the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Los Angeles became the first team to trail in the ninth inning of a Game 7 on the road and come back to win. 

With this victory, the Dodgers became one of just eight teams to win back-to-back World Series and the first National League team to do so since 1976. 

The game was the most-watched Game 7 internationally in 34 years, the last being the 1991 series when the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 10-1 in 10 innings. 

The Blue Jays had a nine-run inning highlighted by a grand slam from pinch-hitter Addison Barger, who was the last Blue Jay to reach base in Game 7.