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The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are facing off in Game 2 of the 2025 World Series.
The Blue Jays lead the series 1-0 after a dominant 11-4 win at home yesterday. Follow below for all the news, updates and analysis from Game 2.
▶️ Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the bump here in the bottom of the eighth inning with just 79 pitches so far. He uses six pitches to fan Andrés Giménez with a curveball in off the plate. | Bot 8th Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
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The good news for the Blue Jays, who have two innings to score at least four runs: The Dodgers bullpen still exists.
The bad news for the Blue Jays: if they can't make Yoshinobu Yamamoto throw more pitches, they're not going to see the Dodgers' bullpen. He's at 79 pitches, with six outs to go.
▶️ Golden sombrero for Teoscar Hernández, swinging through a slider away from Jeff Hoffman to end the inning. Regardless, those were much-needed insurance runs for Los Angeles. | Mid 8th Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
The Blue Jays had the infield in there, but Andrés Giménez tried to start the double play to end the inning, allowing Will Smith to beat out out the back end and it gets a run home. Small, but potentially important moment.
▶️ Will Smith yanks a sinker away on the ground to short but instead of throwing home, Andrés Giménez flips to Bo Bichette at second in an attempt to turn two but Smith beats the return throw as another run scores. | Top 8th Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
Do the Dodgers not want Freddie Freeman to walk there? He was clearly hit by a pitch there, but the Dodgers didn't challenge. Perhaps they felt Freeman up was better than the bases loaded. All moot, of course, as Freeman is intentionally walked.
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▶️ Oh my… Jeff Hoffman spikes a slider on the first pitch he throws, allowing Andy Pages to score from third. Toronto then intentionally walks Freddie Freeman to load the bases again. | Top 8th Dodgers 4, Blue Jays 1
It’s 10:16 p.m. ET and it’s our first empty picnic table at the watch party since first pitch.
Maybe it’s the cold weather? Maybe it’s the Dodgers threatening in the eighth inning and leading the Blue Jays?
Still a lot of baseball left for spectators to leave.
The velocity chart is not Jeff Hoffman’s friend. He started out the season fine, sitting around 97 for the first couple months. In June, it started to dip a little, but in August it cratered. In September, he had as many appearances with a fastball velocity under 95 mph as he did over it. This postseason, it’s 95.6 officially, but that’s not vintage velo for Hoffman in any case.
What he’s done in response is dial down the usage and gone to being a true three-pitch guy with the slider and the splitter, and it’s worked so far this postseason. But if hitters can lay off the high fastballs and the secondaries under the zone, and Hoffman has to come into the middle of the zone with a fastball that’s now below league average in the postseason… well that seems like something the Dodgers, who swung third-least at pitches outside the zone this season, could profit off of.
Freddie Freeman is about to step up to the plate in a late-game situation with the bases loaded on Oct. 25 for the second year in a row. You may remember what he did in this situation 365 days ago.
▶️ Every single pitch in that at-bat from Louis Varland to Mookie Betts was away and it eventually ends in a walk as he yanks a breaking ball into the other batters box. That will do it for Varland as Jeff Hoffman is coming in to face Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded. | Top 8th Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1
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Q: Why wasn’t Mason Fluharty up and ready to face Shohei Ohtani (who singled)?
Maybe you don’t want to do it in a losing effort and overexpose Fluharty here. You feel good with Louis Varland in this spot, and maybe you hold back that matchup now. There’s a lot of thinking going on here. You can’t get in a situation here with Shohei sees Fluharty too much. If he sees him a fourth time, like, that’s rolling the dice big time.
Before this season, everyone called him Louie Varland for his entire career. Then in spring training he showed up asking for the scoreboard and broadcasts to identify him as Louis Varland in honor of his uncle. When people asked him nonstop why, he said: “Everybody’s freaking out about this for no reason.”
His brother Gus, also a major leaguer (and former Dodger), suggested he goes by Corporate Lou.
GO FURTHER
Twins’ Louis Varland discusses why he changed his name and the confusion it’s created
Andy Pages had been 3-for-42 this postseason, with just one extra-base hit. He was one of the best Dodgers hitters all season, but Dave Roberts admitted he thought about keeping him on the bench. That single (and near-baserunning error) rewards the faith, at least a bit.
Addison Barger ranks out in the 99th percentile in arm strength for a reason. He almost got Andy Pages slowly jogging back to second base, with a cannon from right field. The review confirms Pages got his foot down though.
▶️ Shohei Ohtani gets his first hit of the night, ripping a changeup into right field. Andy Pages rounds second but Addison Barger throws behind him and nearly nabs him at second. In fact, the play is so close that Toronto challenges the call. After review, Pages was indeed safe. | Top 8th Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1
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Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, Louis Varland has pitched 10 times this postseason, the most of any reliever on any team. He’s become the Blue Jays’ go-to option in tough spot. He struck out 13 and walked only one in the first two rounds, but he’s also allowed four home runs (after allowing six in 74 outings in the regular season).
Shohei Ohtani entered this at-bat 2-for-10 with a home run and double in his career against him.
▶️ That's a one-out single for Andy Pages, grounding a curveball up the middle. | Top 8th Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1
▶️ Tommy Edman jumps on a first-pitch heater and lofts it to left for the first out. | Top 8th Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1