TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays fans waited 32 years to let loose cheering a World Series home run. They got to do it three times.
Addison Barger launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in Fall Classic history, Alejandro Kirk followed with a two-run homer in a nine-run sixth inning and Toronto overwhelmed the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 in Friday night’s opener.
“Just madness,” Barger said of the third-highest-scoring inning in Series annals.
Daulton Varsho, limited by injuries to 71 games during the season, started Toronto’s comeback from a 2-0 deficit with a two-run drive in the fourth off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
The longball barrage was fitting as the Fall Classic returned to Toronto for the first time since 1993, when Joe Carter hit the second walk-off homer to end a World Series. And in an unusual tie to that night, Varsho is named after Darren Daulton, the Philadelphia Phillies catcher Mitch Williams was throwing to when Carter connected.
“It’s kind of a surreal moment, kind of being full circle for me. Yeah, it’s honestly an honor to be named after him,” Varsho said.
Shohei Ohtani hit his first Series home run for the heavily favored Dodgers, seeking to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees took three titles in a row from 1998-2000. Los Angeles was trailing by nine when he went deep off Braydon Fisher for a two-run shot in the seventh, his fourth homer in two games.
Fans angry that Ohtani spurned the Blue Jays to sign a $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023 chanted: “We don’t need you!” when he came to the plate in the ninth.
“Don’t poke the bear,” Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt warned.
Game 1 winners have won 23 of the last 27 titles. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Saturday night at Rogers Centre.
Playing after a one-week layoff following its National League Championship Series sweep, Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead against 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage on RBI singles by Kiké Hernández in the second and Will Smith in the third.
Yesavage made his fourth postseason start — one more than his regular-season career total. At 22 years, 88 days old he became the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series opener behind Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca at 21 years, 267 days in 1947 at Yankee Stadium.
Yesavage lasted four innings before a raucous crowd of 44,353. He left the bases loaded in the second by retiring Ohtani on a groundout and stranded a runner at third the next inning when he struck out Max Muncy.
“It was an insane experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” said Yesavage, whose first start this season was in front of 327 fans for Class-A Dunedin in Jupiter, Florida.
Dodgers star Mookie Betts called the second inning “the turning point in the game, even though it was early.”
“If you want to win you need to cash it in,” he said.
Seranthony Domínguez got the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings.
Varsho’s homer was the first off Snell by a left-handed hitter since Juan Soto connected for the Yankees on June 2 last year. Snell gave up a career-high five hits on changeups and was charged with five runs, eight hits and three walks in five-plus innings.
“There’s no excuses. I need to be better. I need to throw strikes,” said Snell, who hadn’t pitched since Oct. 13.
Snell was in the Series for the first time since 2020 with Tampa Bay, when he was removed in the sixth inning of Game 6 while pitching a shutout against the Dodgers. Los Angeles rallied against the Rays’ bullpen for its first championship since 1988.
Now the Dodgers are chasing their third crown in six years.
Coming off a seven-game ALCS against Seattle that ended Monday, Toronto got 14 hits and key contributions from Bo Bichette and Varsho, who combined with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to become the first trio of sons of former major leaguers to start for one team in a Series game.
Returning from a sprained left knee that had sidelined him since Sept. 6, Bichette played second base for the first time in six years and favored the knee. He singled in the first, ranged to the left side of the infield to field a grounder and save a run, then with the score 2-2 drew a full-count walk from Snell starting the sixth.
Twelve batters went to the plate in the inning. Ernie Clement singled off reliever Emmet Sheehan for a 3-2 lead, pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk and Andrés Giménez added an RBI single.
Given a heads up he might pinch hit, Barger went to the Trajekt machine and took swings off pitches emulating Sheehan’s. Then the Dodgers brought in left-hander Anthony Banda, and Barger hit a 413-foot drive to right-center on a hanging slider to put Toronto ahead 9-2.
Barger had spent Thursday night on the pullout couch of teammate Davis Schneider because Barger needed his own apartment for family attending the Series.
“I looked over and I just see him just sleeping there in the middle of the night,” Schneider said. “He’s a head case, but he’s funny.”
Kirk, who singled off the right-field wall a pitch before Varsho’s homer, capped the outburst with his fourth home run of the postseason and third hit of the game.
“You’ve got to just flush it,” Banda said. “Get ready for tomorrow.”
Up next
Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman start Saturday night. Yamamoto won Game 2 of the Series last year, allowing one run and one hit over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 victory over the Yankees. He is coming off the first postseason complete game in eight years, a three-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. Gausman will be making his Series debut.
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