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A horrific, catastrophic base running error by the Toronto Blue Jays has set up the first Game 7 of the World Series in six years.
After winning two of three games in California, fans packed the Rogers Centre with the hopes they could see the Toronto Blue Jays clinch their first championship in 32 years.
Instead, one rough inning from an otherwise strong start by Kevin Gausman led to an eventual 3-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the loss wasn't crystalized until a catch-em-out, throw-em-out double play after Toronto's Addison Barger got too greedy on the basepath which forced the do-or-die final game of the baseball season on Saturday night.
It sets up a winner-take-all Game 7: something sports fans in Toronto have been on the losing end of multiple times from their teams.
The Blue Jays won a Game 7 in the American League Championship Series to get to the Fall Classic. But that was the first win in such a game from a Toronto team since the Raptors won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals over the Philadelphia 76ers - en route to a title.
Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers have forced a Game 7 in the World Series
Relief pitcher Justin Wrobleski celebrates after getting out of the seventh inning
Between those two victories, the Raptors lost the 2020 conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics in seven games.
But the true kings of the Game 7 loss in Canada are the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since that aforementioned Raptors win, the Leafs lost Game 7 in 2020 to the Montreal Canadiens, Game 7 in 2021 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 7 in 2024 to the Boston Bruins (who beat Toronto in 7 games in 2013, 2018, and 2019), and Game 7 this past season to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers.
But baseball has been absent of a World Series Game 7 for quite some time. The last one came in 2019, when the Washington Nationals knocked off the Houston Astros to win the franchise's first ever title.
The last team to win a home Game 7 was the St. Louis Cardinals, who upset the Texas Rangers in 2011 during one of the greatest World Series ever played.
Since 2011, four Game 7's have been won by road teams: the San Francisco Giants in 2014 (beating the Kansas City Royals), the Chicago Cubs in 2016 (beating the then-named Cleveland Indians), the Astros in 2017 (beating the Dodgers), and the 2019 Nationals.
Kevin Gausman started off strong, but gave up three runs which led to a defeat
Gausman, Toronto's starter, got off to a blistering start by striking out six of the first nine batters he faced across two-and-a-third innings.
However, that third inning led to a disaster as Will Smith scored Tommy Edman on a double.
The damage was compounded when Mookie Betts, who had been mostly silenced this World Series, hit a double to score Ohtani and Smith to make the game 3-0.
Toronto's sole run came in the bottom of the third. George Springer, the ALCS hero who missed games in the World Series due to injury, knocked through a single that scored Addison Barger.
The game plodded along, with Los Angeles' shaky bullpen bending, but not breaking.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
