{"id":331091,"date":"2025-10-25T08:01:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T08:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/331091\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T08:01:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T08:01:18","slug":"dodgers-biggest-weakness-exposed-in-world-series-game-1-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/331091\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers’ biggest weakness exposed in World Series Game 1 loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TORONTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Dodgers<\/a> might be baseball\u2019s version of an all-powerful Death Star.<\/p>\n

But as Friday\u2019s raucous World Series opener in Toronto showed, they too were built with a fatally exploitable weakness. <\/p>\n

Behind a nine-run sixth inning that left Rogers Centre rocking and the previously invincible Dodgers rattled, the Blue Jays smashed open what had been a tied score in Game 1 of the World Series<\/a> and rolled to an eventual 11-4 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They attacked the Dodgers\u2019 one glaring weakness in the bullpen. They executed the kind of game script to which the defending champions have long seemed susceptible. And they watched in delight as their visitors were blown to bits, suffering an implosion of galactic proportions in what was the third-highest scoring inning in Fall Classic history.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly,\u201d Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho<\/a> said, \u201cwe just showed everybody what we can do as a lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Or, more to the point in this Fall Classic matchup, how they can get to the Dodgers\u2019 rotation-reliant pitching staff.<\/p>\n

Even though the Dodgers took an early lead in Game 1, scoring twice in the first three innings against rookie Blue Jays sensation Trey Yesavage<\/a>, Toronto was methodical in executing its game plan against Dodgers ace Blake Snell.<\/p>\n

They kept him under constant stress, starting with a 29-pitch first inning in which they left the bases loaded but drove up his pitch count.<\/p>\n

They ensured he wouldn\u2019t go deep into the game, generating more baserunners in each of the next three frames by compounding Snell\u2019s lack of fastball command (which contributed to three walks and left him pitching too often behind in the count) with their own trademark offensive traits of plate discipline (they struck out against him only four times) and contact ability (they whiffed on only 10 of 48 swings against him).<\/p>\n

\u201cBlake just didn\u2019t have fastball command. He was working deeper counts,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cAnd when he had count leverage, he really couldn\u2019t put \u2018em away, because they were putting the ball in play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, the Blue Jays broke through.<\/p>\n

Varsho tied the score in the bottom of the fourth, launching a center-cut, first-pitch fastball to straightaway center for a two-run blast. It was the first home run Snell had allowed all season to a left-handed hitter.<\/p>\n

Then, the Blue Jays forced Snell from the game after loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, knocking him out at the 100-pitch mark before he could even record the first out of the inning.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a tough game,\u201d Snell said.<\/p>\n

It also left Roberts in a tight spot \u2014 unlike any he\u2019d encountered this postseason. <\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

For much of the month, the Dodgers\u2019 dominant rotation had been able to work out of similar late-inning jams. And the times they couldn\u2019t, Roberts would turn to left-hander Alex Vesia<\/a> to be his primary fireman.<\/p>\n

This series, though, the Dodgers are without Vesia \u2014 having left him off the roster while he and his wife deal with what the team described as a \u201cdeeply personal family matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in his absence, a relief corps that was already the weak link on this year\u2019s team has become that much tougher to try to manage around.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of viable options,\u201d Roberts said before the game. \u201cGuys are going to have to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Roberts first turned to Emmet Sheehan<\/a>, the converted starting pitcher who did not appear in the team\u2019s NL Championship Series sweep. But he was ineffective, giving up an RBI single to Ernie Clement, a run-scoring walk to Nathan Lukes in what started as an 0-2 count, then another RBI single to Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made some really good swings, and then obviously the walk can\u2019t happen,\u201d said Sheehan, who left the mound with a 5-2 deficit and only one out recorded. \u201cIt\u2019s not a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts\u2019 next decision didn\u2019t work out any better, inserting left-hander Anthony Banda<\/a> to face left-handed pinch-hitter Addison Barger.<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda reacts after giving up a grand slam to Toronto\u2019s Addison Barger in the sixth inning in Game 1 of the World Series.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Four pitches in, Banda hung a slider. With the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, Barger detonated the Dodgers\u2019 reactor core.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad pitch,\u201d Banda said. \u201cHe took advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The damage would only keep coming from there, with Kirk adding a two-run blast later to make it a nine-run inning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t make pitches when we needed to to keep that game close,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

And now the question is whether the Dodgers will be able to cover the rest of this series.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight,\u201d Banda conceded, \u201cwas just very bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bullpen, of course, isn\u2019t the sole reason the Dodgers find themselves facing a 1-0 World Series deficit.<\/p>\n

\"Toronto's <\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s Addison Barger, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s lineup squandered several early chances \u2014 including leaving the bases loaded in the second \u2014 that could\u2019ve opened up a more comfortable lead against Yesavage, who managed only four innings.<\/p>\n

And once the Dodgers did get into Toronto\u2019s bullpen \u2014 which actually entered this series with a worse postseason ERA than even the Dodgers\u2019 shaky group \u2014 their offense went silent, generating just one baserunner in their two trips to the plate when the game was tied in the fifth and sixth.<\/p>\n

Their only late scoring came on a garbage-time homer from Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, who was later serenaded with chants of \u201cWe don\u2019t need you!\u201d from a Blue Jays fan base that had hoped he\u2019d sign in Toronto as a free agent two years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen always figured to loom larger in this series than it had previously in these playoffs. Toronto\u2019s lineup is the deepest, and most balanced, they\u2019ve faced so far this October. It was better equipped than the top-heavy Phillies or light-hitting Brewers to get the Dodgers\u2019 starters out of the game earlier, and force their relievers into high-leverage spots.<\/p>\n

Add in Vesia\u2019s absence, and the club\u2019s reliance on Sheehan (a second-year big-leaguer pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time), Banda (who is now the top left-hander by default, following an up-and-down campaign) and veteran Blake Treinen (who has been better in the playoffs, but is still coming off a career-worst performance in the regular season) to serve as a bridge to closer Roki Sasaki has suddenly become heightened.<\/p>\n

Friday brought an immediate first test \u2014 and a failure of horrifically spectacular fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to bounce back,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say concerning. … But, yeah, with the construct of the pen, we\u2019re going to need \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the team\u2019s one fatal flaw might continue to be exposed.<\/p>\n

One game into this World Series, their most vulnerable weak spot has already been exploited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a long way to go, a lot of baseball [left],\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut they certainly got to make good pitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Highlights from the Dodgers\u2019 11-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Dodgers might be baseball\u2019s version of an all-powerful Death Star. But as Friday\u2019s raucous World Series opener…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":331092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35125,6281,79784,164300,22896,19497,2442,1910,51,3688,5948,50,26804,55015,3007,52,8790,154127],"class_list":{"0":"post-331091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-anthony-banda","9":"tag-barger","10":"tag-basis","11":"tag-big-weakness-resurface","12":"tag-blue-jays","13":"tag-bullpen","14":"tag-dodgers","15":"tag-game","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-inning","18":"tag-loss","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-roberts","21":"tag-snell","22":"tag-team","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-toronto","25":"tag-world-series-game"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115433759496816654","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}