Dodgers News: Springer Dinger Sends Toronto to Fall Classic

TORONTO — The Dodgers now know their opponent. After a tense, see-saw battle at Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays edged the Seattle Mariners 4–3 on Monday night to clinch the American League pennant and set up a World Series matchup with Los Angeles beginning Friday in Canada.

The Dodgers, who haven’t opened a Fall Classic on the road since 2018, will play Games 1 and 2 in Toronto on Friday and Saturday night. The series then shifts to Dodger Stadium for Games 4, 5, and 6 next Monday through Wednesday.

Seattle led early behind Julio Rodríguez, who doubled and later homered to put the Mariners ahead 2–1 in the third. Cal Raleigh added a solo shot in the fifth to make it 3–1, and the Mariners seemed poised to punch their ticket to their first ever World Series. But the Blue Jays’ bullpen kept the game within reach, and the home crowd of 44,770 roared to life in the seventh inning.

With two on and one out, veteran George Springer turned on a fastball from Eduard Bazardo and launched it into the left-center seats for a three-run homer, giving Toronto a 4–3 lead. Kevin Gausman earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, and Jeff Hoffman closed it out with three strikeouts in the ninth.

The game-winner came from a familiar name for Dodger fans. Springer was a key member of the 2017 Houston Astros, whose sign-stealing scandal remains one of the darkest chapters in recent baseball history — and one that many in Los Angeles still believe cost the Dodgers a championship. His go-ahead blast on Monday ensures that the Dodgers will see him again, eight years later, on the sport’s biggest stage. Get those boos ready to roll.

For the Blue Jays, it marks their first trip to the World Series since 1993, when Joe Carter’s walk-off home run sealed a title over the Phillies. For the Dodgers, it’s a return trip after winning it all in New York in five games last year.

The travel logistics are already set: Toronto will host the first two games at Rogers Centre, with the roof likely closed given October weather in Ontario. The series will move to Dodger Stadium for at least two games, where fans in Chavez Ravine will get to see their Boys in Blue for the second straight year.

Julio Rodríguez and Raleigh each homered in defeat, but the Mariners couldn’t recover after Springer’s blast. Toronto out-hit Seattle 10–8 and turned a pair of double plays behind starter Shane Bieber and a deep bullpen that included starters Gausman and Chris Bassitt, as well as closer Hoffman.

The Dodgers will now have three days to travel and reset their rotation. It’s a longer layoff than they’d like, but Los Angeles has thrived in these situations before. Dave Roberts’ club enters the World Series rested and confident, with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts leading a lineup that has won 9 of 10 games in October.

Game 1 is scheduled for Friday night at Rogers Centre. The Fall Classic is officially set: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays — with a bit of history, and some unfinished business, along for the ride.

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