Jays Watch: Bats get to Snell, fans get on Ohtani in Game 1 blowout

We break down the Toronto Blue Jays' 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series.

Blue Jays 1st team to get to Snell

This World Series has been billed David vs. Goliath.

On Friday night, David threw a haymaker.

Now, the Blue Jays certainly aren't some small-market bottom feeder. They're armed with a top-five MLB payroll, and a $500-million star in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But still, they don't possess the same kind of star-studded roster loaded with future Hall of Famers as the Dodgers.

If you haven't seen a lot of Blue Jays baseball this season, Game 1 was the perfect representation of what's made them so successful. They don't care if they get behind early. They grind out at-bats. They're not going to strike out. And they're going to get contributions throughout the lineup.

"That's kind of how we roll," manager John Schneider said postgame.

Blake Snell entered Game 1 the best version of himself, having allowed two runs off six hits and five walks over his previous three postseason starts (21 innings), while striking out 28 batters. He had thrown 14 straight shutout innings.

Toronto worked Snell for a 28-pitch first inning. Alejandro Kirk saw 18 of Snell's pitches, fouled nine off, and didn't swing and miss once. Daulton Varsho became the first left-handed hitter to homer off him since 2024. They knocked Snell out in the sixth after he loaded the bases with no outs.

It was the shortest outing of Snell's 2025 postseason, and it's the most runs and hits he's ever allowed in a playoff start.

"I thought tonight Blake just didn't have fastball command," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He was working deeper counts. When he had count leverage, he really couldn't put 'em away because they were putting the ball in play, and there were just a couple bad walks in there."

The Dodgers' rotation is the best in baseball, but the Blue Jays demonstrated in Game 1 that they're going to make you work for every pitch, and are up for any challenge.

The supporting cast delivers again

The Blue Jays used 12 position players in Game 1. Eight of them recorded a hit. Five of them recorded multiple hits. Six drove in runs.

Toronto's relentless roster continues to power them through this incredible October run, but a pair of left-on-left swings Friday could indicate a potent lineup is becoming even more dangerous.

Varsho's home run was his second off a left-handed starter this postseason. He took Max Fried deep in the ALDS. He's already matched his home run production off southpaws this October compared to what he did in 56 regular season plate appearances.

"He's been good against lefties, he's been good against righties, and I think he's kind of just coming into a complete player," Schneider said. "We always think about his defense and his base running, but the added threat there with the power is huge."

Addison Barger opened the game on the bench with Snell starting, but still found himself hitting in a big spot with a lefty on the mound. After Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, and Andrés Giménez all drove in runs, Barger pinch hit for Davis Schneider, and Roberts countered with Anthony Banda. Barger got ahead in the count, and then hammered a hanging slider for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. It's just his second career home run off a lefty.

"Lefties are definitely more difficult usually," Barger said. "But just trying to put together good at-bats, no matter who is on the mound."

Though it's only two swings, Barger and Varsho hitting left-handed pitching for power just adds another element to this lineup. This postseason's been a coming out party for a number of Blue Jays, and you can tell they're not just happy to be here.

Tale of 2 bullpens

One of the keys to the Blue Jays having success this series is to not allow the Dodgers' starters to pitch deep into games and hand the ball off to the high-leverage arms at the back of the 'pen. Toronto got into the middle of L.A.'s bullpen in Game 1, and that's where things changed.

Alex Vesia's absence could be significant, as Dave Roberts will have his hands full trying to bridge the gap to Blake Treinen and Roki Sasaki. Emmet Sheehan and Banda were the first two arms out of the bullpen in Game 1, and the pair combined to allow six runs while recording only three outs.

"They need to bounce back," Roberts said. "With the construct of the pen, we're going to need 'em, and so we got a long way to go, a lot of baseball, but they certainly got to make good pitches."

The four relievers Roberts used (Sheehan, Banda, Justin Wrobleski, and Will Klein) threw 56 pitches over three innings and didn't record a strikeout.

Dodgers starters own a 1.95 ERA across 69 1/3 innings this October, while their bullpen has a 6.16 ERA in 30 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays' pen, meanwhile, kept them in the game after Trey Yesavage labored through four innings. The rookie right-hander allowed two runs and struck out five, but permitted nine baserunners and forced Schneider to go to his bullpen early. Mason Fluharty and Seranthony Domínguez combined to allow just two baserunners over their two innings, and kept the game tied before the nine-run explosion in the sixth.

For as maligned as the Blue Jays' bullpen has been at times this season, the group has stepped up in October, and has been the reason why Toronto's won a number of games. L.A.'s bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding, while Toronto's kept the door open for its offense to get back in the game.

Bo looks comfortable at 2B

Not only did the Blue Jays include Bo Bichette on the World Series roster, but they rolled him out at a position he'd never played during his seven-year MLB career in Game 1.

Bichette opened the night at second base, and despite playing on a knee that he admitted pregame still isn't 100%, he looked quite comfortable. Bichette singled in the first inning, grounded into a double play in the third, and walked in the sixth before being replaced by a pinch runner.

"I felt pretty good," Bichette said.

Schneider said going into the series he wasn't concerned that the month-plus layoff would hinder Bichette offensively, and the real challenge would be how he responds defensively. The Blue Jays, assuming Bichette comes out of Game 1 healthy, have to be pretty impressed with what he gave them at second base.

"The play up the middle was kind of the thing we were looking for, and he handled it, made a good throw," Schneider said.

Bichette revealed that he broached the idea of playing second base to the team, as he believed it was the quickest way he could get back from his knee injury. Giménez has been excellent filling in defensively at shortstop, and deploying Bichette at second makes managing the roster much easier for Schneider.

Ohtani receives rude welcome

So much for friendly Canadians.

Shohei Ohtani was greeted by loud boos at Rogers Centre from the moment he was introduced pregame.

The wounds are clearly still fresh, even two seasons removed from Ohtani's decision to pick California over Canada.

On the heels of arguably the greatest postseason game ever played, in which Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters, the soon-to-be four-time MVP was good, but not great, in Game 1, and missed his chance to impact the game until it was too late.

He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. His ground out with the bases loaded in the second inning could have changed the game. His two-run home run in the seventh was his fourth in his last two games, but came much too late.

Strikeouts remain a major issue for Ohtani this postseason, as he's now struck out 19 times in 45 at-bats, though Roberts isn't overly concerned.

"The homer was nice," Roberts said. "Hopefully he can kind of build on that one. He's going to be all right. Obviously you like him with the bases loaded, and Yesavage made a good pitch with the split down below. But yeah, he's going to be fine."

With the game out of reach in the ninth, the crowd at Rogers Centre serenaded Ohtani with chants of "We don't need you."

With potentially six games to go in the series, it might not be the best idea to poke the bear - especially one as talented as the Japanese superstar. But you can also understand Blue Jays fans wanting to get their own small piece of revenge after being the punchline of so many plane jokes over the last two years.

"Kind of heard it," Schneider said of the jeers, "but it's tough to talk about a player like that, to be honest with you. He's special. I'm glad that the home run he hit came when it came and we had a little cushion. But I love that our fans are passionate about our team."