TORONTO — Drake had a much better night than Blake. 

The Blue Jays and even their crowd may not be as star infused as the heavily favored Dodgers, but the club known for great lineup depth and superior contact hitting sent a decisive message by peppering and even pounding Dodgers pitching. That even includes vaunted ace Blake Snell, who’d been nearly perfect in October. 

Rogers Centre was rocking, and the underdog team served notice that this isn’t going to be easy at all for the $400 million Dodgers, who won nine of 10 games while coasting through a National League derby that was seen as the much bigger test. That turned out to be a cakewalk for LA; this was something else entirely. 

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger (47) rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth inning during game one of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

This was instead a confidence boost for a balanced Jays team that’s better than we think (remember how they dismantled the Yankees in the ALDS!) But the 11-4 Jays Game 1 World Series victory, which included a nine-run inning and the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history (by Addison Barger), revealed two important and worrisome things about the Dodgers, too.