If there’s one thing Toronto sports fans have learned to handle — or at least pretend they can — it’s the anxiety of a Game 7.
Time and time again, they’ve been pushed to the brink, only to watch their hopes unravel in the most heartbreaking ways imaginable.
Now, once again, that all-too-familiar tension has returned to the Rogers Centre.
After flying high in California and snagging two of three games, Toronto Blue Jays fans packed the stands with one dream in mind — witnessing their team clinch a long-awaited World Series title, something they haven’t celebrated in 32 years. But baseball had other plans.
A Promising Start Slips Away
Kevin Gausman came out firing on all cylinders, striking out six of the first nine Dodgers he faced.
It felt like Toronto was in control — until it wasn’t.
In the third inning, the Dodgers flipped the script. Will Smith doubled to bring home Tommy Edman, putting Los Angeles on the board.
Moments later, Mookie Betts — who had been unusually quiet this series — broke his silence with a two-run double that scored Shohei Ohtani and Smith, making it 3-0.
Toronto managed to answer back in the bottom of the same inning when George Springer, the ALCS hero making a return from injury, hit an RBI single to score Addison Barger. But that would be their only run of the night.
Yamamoto Shuts Down Toronto’s Rally
Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was steady and composed throughout.
Despite giving up five hits, he held the Blue Jays to a single earned run and racked up six strikeouts.
His control silenced Toronto’s bats and kept the Dodgers ahead just long enough for their defense to seal the deal.
The Blue Jays tried to summon the spirit of 1993 — when Joe Carter’s legendary walk-off homer in Game 6 delivered Canada its last World Series title — but this time, history didn’t repeat itself.
A Ninth-Inning That Echoed History
Heading into the bottom of the ninth down by two runs, Toronto fans dared to believe in another miracle moment.
Alejandro Kirk reached first after being hit by a pitch, and Barger followed with what looked like a crucial double.
But the play turned controversial when the umpires ruled it a “wedged ground-rule double,” forcing the runners to stay put on second and third.
With one swing, the Jays could’ve ended it all — but the magic never came. Third baseman Ernie Clement popped out on the first pitch he saw.
Then came Andres Gimenez, desperate for redemption after a rough series. On a 1-0 count, he flared a soft shot into shallow left field.
As Barger sprinted from second, assuming the ball would drop, Enrique “Kiké” Hernandez made a clutch catch and fired to second baseman Miguel Rojas.
The throw beat Barger to the bag for a game-ending double play.
Rogers Centre Left in Shock
You could hear a pin drop as the crowd realized what had just happened.
A play that started with hope ended with heartbreak. The call was reviewed, but the outcome stood.
The Dodgers walked off celebrating, while the Blue Jays were left staring at what could’ve been.
Now, Toronto must dig deep for a winner-take-all Game 7 — a situation that’s haunted the city’s sports history more than once.
Toronto’s Long, Painful History With Game 7s
The Blue Jays’ journey to the World Series came through a Game 7 win in the ALCS, their first such victory since the Raptors’ 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers. But that victory was a rare exception in a string of Game 7 heartbreaks for Toronto teams.
Between 2019 and 2025, the city endured five straight Game 7 losses — mostly thanks to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fell to the Canadiens in 2021, the Lightning in 2022, the Bruins in 2024 (and in 2013, 2018, and 2019), and the Florida Panthers just last season.
The Raptors also contributed with a painful Game 7 defeat in 2020.
A Rare Baseball Moment Awaits
Baseball hasn’t seen a World Series Game 7 since 2019, when the Washington Nationals upset the Houston Astros to claim their first-ever championship.
Interestingly, no home team has won a Game 7 in the Fall Classic since the St. Louis Cardinals pulled off their iconic 2011 comeback against the Texas Rangers.
Since then, every Game 7 champion — the Giants in 2014, Cubs in 2016, Astros in 2017, and Nationals in 2019 — has won on the road.
One More Chance for Redemption
For the Blue Jays, everything now comes down to one final game.
The weight of decades of heartbreak hangs heavy, but there’s still one last shot at rewriting the city’s painful playoff narrative.
If Toronto can rally and pull off the win, they’ll not only capture their first championship since 1993 but also finally bury the ghosts of Game 7s past. If not, it might go down as the most devastating loss of them all.