TORONTO: Will Smith hit a home run with two outs in the 11th to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to their second straight World Series championship with a 5-4 Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.
Smith’s second homer of the postseason came on a shot to left on a 2-0 slider from Shane Bieber (2-1).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the home 11th with a double against Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-1), who started Game 6 on Friday. Guerrero took third on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s sacrifice. Addison Barger walked. Alejandro Kirk grounded into a season-ending double play.
The Dodgers tied the game at 4 on the first homer of the postseason by Miguel Rojas on a Jeff Hoffman 3-2 slider with one out in the ninth.
In the home ninth, Blake Snell allowed a one-out single and a walk before Yamamoto came in to load the bases with a hit batter before getting a force at home and a flyout to force extra innings.
The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the 10th against Seranthony Dominguez but failed to score.
Max Muncy also homered for the Dodgers, who became the first repeat World Series winners since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
Toronto’s Ernie Clement had three hits to set a postseason record of 30. He extended his postseason hit streak to 13 games, a franchise record. George Springer added three hits.
Shohei Ohtani, L.A.’s Game 4 starter, allowed Springer’s leadoff single in the third. Springer took second on Nathan Lukes’ sacrifice and moved to third on a wild pitch to Guerrero, who was then walked intentionally. Bichette smashed a first-pitch slider to center for his first homer of the postseason and the Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Ohtani allowed three runs, five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
Smith doubled high off the wall in left-center against Max Scherzer to start the fourth and took third on Freddie Freeman’s single. Muncy walked with one out. Center fielder Daulton Varsho made a diving catch on Teoscar Hernandez’s sacrifice fly but Smith scored.
Scherzer allowed one run, four hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Toronto’s Chris Bassitt walked Mookie Betts to start the sixth. Muncy singled and was out at second on Hernandez’s bouncer to the mound. Tommy Edman hit a sacrifice fly to center.
Clement led off the home sixth with a single, stole second and scored on Andres Gimenez’s double to center.
Toronto’s Trey Yesavage allowed Muncy’s third homer of the postseason with one out in the eighth on a 1-1 splitter.
Dodgers rally past Blue Jays in 11th to win second straight World Series
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Dodgers rally past Blue Jays in 11th to win second straight World Series
- Will Smith hit a home run with two outs in the 11th to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to their second straight World Series championship
Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 1 run in a last-ball finish
- David Payne’s 3-wicket over at the death turned the tide in favor of the Vipers
- Shrewd bowling by the MI Emirates, led by AM Ghazanfar’s 2-wicket haul, restricted the Vipers to 159/4
ABU DHABI: The Desert Vipers beat the MI Emirates by one run at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The win, which went down to the last ball, was the Vipers’ fourth-straight triumph of the DP World ILT20 season four. The Vipers have consolidated their position at the top of the table with eight points.
Defending 159, the Vipers initially struggled to take wickets. The game turned in the 19th over, when David Payne — who finished with four for 29 — claimed three crucial scalps.
The UAE’s Khuzaima Tanveer was also impressive with two for 34, as the Vipers showed their composure once again.
In the second innings, the MI Emirates lost an early wicket when Tanveer dismissed Jonny Bairstow (8 off 7) in the second over. It was Muhammad Waseem (24 off 21) and Tom Banton (34 off 29) who steered the MI Emirates through the powerplay with the score at 49/1.
They erected a 42-run stand in 31 balls before Tanveer struck again in his second spell of the night to remove Waseem. Banton looked in complete control when Nicholas Pooran (31 off 29) joined him in the middle.
The duo looked settled, completing another 42-run partnership, this time in 40 balls. However, Sam Curran sent Pooran back in the 14th over with 62 needed off 36 balls.
Banton followed in the next over as Payne bagged his first wicket of the night, bringing the score to 105/4. Tajinder Singh (17 off 7) hit Curran for a couple of sixes that brought the MI Emirates ahead of the equation with a 20-run over.
Lockie Ferguson then ended Singh’s stay at the crease with his first wicket of the match in the 18th over.
Another twist in the penultimate over saw Payne turn the match on its head. First, he got Romario Shepherd (1 off 4), followed by the wicket of skipper Kieron Pollard (23 off 13). Chris Woakes (0 off 2) followed in the final ball, meaning that the MI Emirates needed 16 runs in six balls to win.
Rashid Khan (13* off 8) could have been the match winner, hitting a six and a four in the final over, but the MI Emirates could not find the two runs needed on the last ball.
Batting first, the Vipers had started on a promising note, led by Fakhar Zaman (35 off 31). By the end of the powerplay, the Vipers were 51/0, threatening to make their way to a big score.
After Andries Gous (21 off 15) retired hurt, Zaman combined with Max Holden (42 off 37) for a 51-run stand in 37 balls. AM Ghazanfar then got the breakthrough when Zaman holed out to Banton. Following his wicket, the bowlers kept the pressure on the Vipers, ensuring that boundaries were scarce.
Shimron Hetmyer (15 off 9) entered the fray after Holden retired-out and hit the first six of the innings in the 18th over. Soon after, Curran (19 off 19) hit the ball straight into Banton’s hands to give Ghazanfar his second wicket of the night.
Dan Lawrence (15* off 8) also provided a key contribution toward the end while Hetmyer was scalped by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the final over of the innings as the Vipers finished at 159/4.
Player of the Match Payne said: “It felt as though we were hanging on towards the end, waiting for the moment to break through.
“When that happened, we managed to take a few crucial wickets, and Rashid Khan ensured it went right down to the wire — probably an entertaining contest for the neutral.
“We kept the plans simple, hitting the pitch with good line and length. Overall, simplicity worked well today.”
The MI Emirates’ captain Pollard said: “In our last game, we snuck over the line when we probably shouldn’t have won, and this time it turned around on us. The Vipers bowled brilliantly.
“We didn’t finish the innings well, especially in the last couple of overs. It shows again that if you stay in the fight long enough in cricket, momentum can shift and you can lose from a winning position and that’s what happened to us tonight.”
