TORONTO — There was no shortage of dramatic moments in Game 7 of the World Series. But one stood out above all others for Brooke Whitaker: Her husband’s jaw-dropping home run off Shohei Ohtani.
The Jays’ Bo Bichette blasted a three-run, goggles-on, 440-foot homer off the Angels superstar to give Toronto a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The blast erupted Rogers Centre and gave the defending champs an immediate boost.
But it was what happened in the bottom of the fourth inning that caused the highest drama of the night and nearly led to a benches-clearing incident. Andres Gimenez took two brush-back pitches from lefty Justin Wrobleski and got into a verbal spat with him. The benches and bullpens cleared in a flurry of emotions.
It was an unusual sequence for the Dodgers, who had just trailed by a run. But despite the fracas, the series was still very much alive.
During that chaotic stretch, the Blue Jays hung on, largely thanks to two outstanding defensive plays by Daulton Varsho in centre field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base.
And in the eighth, a hero emerged: Will Klein. The Jays’ long man, whose regular-season high was 45 pitches in a Triple-A game, battled through four scoreless innings and stranded runners on second and third. He was a World Series hero.