{"id":42845,"date":"2026-04-06T12:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42845"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:35:03","slug":"dodgers-recall-world-series-game-7-ahead-of-toronto-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42845","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers recall World Series Game 7 ahead of Toronto return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F04%2Fnewspress-collage-coqhr04d8-1775478113852.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261775463765\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Five months later, the disbelief still remains.<\/p>\n<p>Of the Dodgers\u2019 World Series triumph. Of the storybook way it unfolded. Of how close they were to defeat, only to rally for a championship.<\/p>\n<p>In Los Angeles, that iconic Game 7 is now the stuff of legend.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with teammates after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Patrick Smith\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Toronto, it\u2019s a haunting nightmare for the Blue Jays, who welcome the Dodgers back to Canada for a World Series rematch this week.<\/p>\n<p>For everyone involved, the details are still fresh. Even with the start of a new season, the emotions continue to resonate.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cYou got taken to the brink, and you found a way to overcome it,\u201d veteran third baseman Max Muncy said. \u201cFor me, that might be something that I look at more than anything else. That we got truly tested \u2026 (and) came through in the moments when it mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All of which, entering Monday\u2019s series-opener at Rogers Centre, raised a lingering question.<\/p>\n<p>Was there ever a moment during Game 7 that the Dodgers started to doubt? Where they took a moment amid the mayhem, considered the dire circumstances they were facing, and thought: <em>Man, we\u2019re really gonna lose this game.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Last week, The California Post posed Dodgers\u2019 players that exact query. Most, of course, said no. Some, perhaps more honestly, acknowledged yes. But all of them continued to be amazed at the scale of their accomplishment \u2013\u2013 staring down near certain defeat, and responding with one of baseball\u2019s most memorable victories.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting a home run during the eleventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The optimists<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Of the 16 players from last year\u2019s World Series team that The California Post polled, the majority (11 of them, to be exact) insisted they never had such apprehension.<\/p>\n<p>For some, it was simple confidence in their battle-tested squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s just the experience that we\u2019ve had, or the atmospheres we\u2019d already played in,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cBut that was a feeling that was resonating through the dugout. It was, \u2018We have our work cut out for us. But we can still get this thing done.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur dugout was so calm,\u201d Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez added, \u201cit felt like we would for sure come back and at least tie the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others were too focused pitch-to-pitch to let their mind wander.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think playing the game, you\u2019re just so locked in that every bit of your attention is focused on, \u2018OK, how are we gonna come back and win?\u2019\u201d Tommy Edman said.<\/p>\n<p>Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez felt similarly, especially while fighting through an elbow injury that later required surgery: \u201cTo be honest, I was trying to be in the moment because I was in so much pain. I was just trying to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That didn\u2019t mean the optimists weren\u2019t worried, especially after Bo Bichette\u2019s stadium-rocking blast in the bottom of the third inning gave the Blue Jays an early three-run lead.<\/p>\n<p>Said Muncy: \u201cWhen Bichette hit the three-run homer and the roof blew off the place, you\u2019re kinda sitting there going, \u2018This one\u2019s gonna be tough.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez: \u201cI was like, \u2018F\u2014, we\u2019re down 3-0. It\u2019s gonna be an uphill battle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Glasnow: \u201cI didn\u2019t think we were gonna lose. But I was like, \u2018Ugh.\u2019 I just kind of had a weird feeling in my stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet, throughout the rest of the night, hope was alive and well as the Dodgers embarked on their comeback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t really know how we were gonna do it,\u201d Justin Wrobleski said. \u201cBut, I don\u2019t know, I had a feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So did Blake Snell, who put things more declaratively looking back: \u201cI thought we were gonna win the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with Enrique Hern\u00e1ndez after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The realists<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>On the flip side, the five players who did acknowledge moments of doubt noted they never resigned themselves to certain defeat.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just, in a game that contained so many gut punches and plot twists, it was only natural for some dark thoughts to creep in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think everybody in the world thought that (we were gonna lose), so I\u2019d be lying if I didn\u2019t,\u201d Mookie Betts said. \u201cI mean, obviously, you don\u2019t wanna have those bad thoughts. But I mean, who doesn\u2019t have that thought in that situation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t really lie, saying that I wasn\u2019t worried,\u201d Rojas echoed. \u201cBeing down 3-0 in a World Series game, where you know it\u2019s all hands on deck from their bullpen \u2026 you\u2019re kind of wondering, like, \u2018Hey, is this gonna be it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Rojas, the concern dissipated quickly, with the run the Dodgers got back in the fourth inning helping to immediately restore belief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt makes you believe again, like, \u2018OK, we\u2019re not out,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>For others, however, dread remained straight through to the top ninth inning, when the team was down to its last two outs and the veteran infielder stepped up to the plate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you get one out (that inning), you\u2019re like, \u2018Aw, darn,\u2019\u201d Freddie Freeman said. \u201cThat\u2019s probably the only time that thought crossed my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was scary, like, \u2018We\u2019re gonna come all this way, and we\u2019re not gonna make it?\u2019\u201d Alex Call recalled. \u201cThat was probably the most real (the thought of losing the game) felt, when (Rojas) was up at the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after turning a double play to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Mark Blinch\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The comeback<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Dodgers had been chipping away at their deficit before then, clawing back within one on Muncy\u2019s homer in the eighth.<\/p>\n<p>And all along, in quiet scenes outside the foul lines, there were other ways players were trying to keep the faith strong.<\/p>\n<p>In the bullpen, Will Klein opted for a superstitious routine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was trying to find a position (to stand) where good things would happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI would go downstairs, we\u2019d get a hit, I\u2019d stay downstairs \u2013\u2013 until something bad happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of his other relief-mates sought comfort from above.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sitting in the bullpen, I\u2019m just praying,\u201d Blake Treinen said. \u201cAnd God keeps tapping me, like, \u2018Hey, why are you worrying? You\u2019ve prayed for a ring. You\u2019ve prayed for this and that. If it\u2019s gonna be, it\u2019s gonna be. Worrying isn\u2019t gonna add another day to your life.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018Alright God.\u2019 And then every time something like that would happen, boom \u2026 all these things (good) happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manager Dave Roberts, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wSFj6lpXjUA&amp;t=676s\">broke down Game 7 on The Dodgers Post podcast last month<\/a>, felt it in the dugout, noting the confident and supportive chatter he heard throughout the night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI look back to 2017 (in the Dodgers\u2019 previous World Series Game 7 against the Astros), we gave up three runs early \u2014 and we just kind of mailed it in,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWhereas this game right here, even when we were down 3\u20130 in the third, there was fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And in the end, it all culminated with Rojas\u2019 game-tying home run; a moment to which everyone offered common sentiments this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were sooo close,\u201d Call said. \u201cAnd then it\u2019s like, \u2018No! We did it!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Miggy hit that homer, I was like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re gonna win,\u2019\u201d Glasnow added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt that point,\u201d Mookie Betts also noted, \u201cit kind of felt like we were playing with house money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jack Dreyer remembered being next to Clayton Kershaw as they were getting loose in the bullpen. The future Hall of Famer\u2019s reaction: \u201cHe was in my ear going, \u2018Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!\u2019 over and over again,\u201d Dreyer said with a laugh.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts, meanwhile, couldn\u2019t help but smile <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/25\/sports\/watching-dodgers-game-7-world-series-win-with-dave-roberts\/\">while rewatching Rojas\u2019 swing recently<\/a> \u2013\u2013 at which point, the Dodgers\u2019 win probability was only 9%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was not on my bingo card,\u201d he joked of Rojas going deep. \u201cThat was unbelievable \u2026 I just didn\u2019t expect that.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The championship<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There was more stress the rest of the way \u2026 as Call so eloquently recounted in his interview with The Post.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas\u2019 stumbling throw home in the top of the ninth: \u201cOh my gosh, get up! Throw the ball home! This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ensuing review to check if Will Smith\u2019s foot stayed on home plate: \u201cIt was like, \u2018Is his foot on the base? Are we gonna lose on a replay?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernie Clement\u2019s fly ball that sent Andy Pages and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez colliding into each other in left field: \u201cI\u2019m like, this is it. We\u2019re gonna lose right here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every time, however, the Dodgers escaped \u2013\u2013 dodging one bullet after another before finally prevailing in the 11th on Smith\u2019s go-ahead homer and Yoshinobu Yamamoto\u2019s game-ending double-play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were so many different times we could\u2019ve lost,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cAnd it was just like, \u2018Wow, we got out of that one. We got out of this one.\u2019 \u2026 I\u2019m sure if we sat down, you\u2019d probably count on multiple hands, \u2018How did we get out of that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer, Dodgers players concurred, was rooted in a culture they\u2019d forged over years of formative playoff experience, plenty full of both heartbreak and elation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when we don\u2019t play well, we figure out ways to win a game,\u201d Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cIt speaks volumes about who we are as a group, and our ability to not only be really good, but know how to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Wrobleski, one of the youngest members of the club, put it: \u201cNo matter what the situation is, let the situation make you better, and just heighten that focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Rojas, who was the oldest member of the team\u2019s position player group, such resiliency only added to the feeling of accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m proud of the way we kept our composure and fought through that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that you will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All those memories, of course, will come flooding back this week when the Dodgers return to Rogers Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas joked that he was looking forward to being booed, something he\u2019s never experienced before in his career: \u201cI really want to step in that batter\u2019s box again and see how it\u2019s gonna be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts was anticipating a hostile reaction for the whole team: \u201cI think the fans there want a piece of us. I think it\u2019s gonna be exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After all, as Treinen pointed out, \u201cYou could play that series the exact same way \u2013\u2013 every situation lines back up again, before those big plays happen \u2013\u2013 you do it 99 more times, and I bet you could almost say we\u2019d lose 99 more of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with his team after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 to win the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But hen it mattered, the Dodgers found a way to conjure one-in-a-hundred (Or thousand? Or million?) World Series magic, in a game forever etched into baseball history. <\/p>\n<p>Said Freeman, with a laugh: \u201cI still don\u2019t know how we pulled that off.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/sports\/dodgers-recall-world-series-game-7-ahead-of-toronto-return\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five months later, the disbelief still remains. Of the Dodgers\u2019 World Series triumph. Of the storybook way it unfolded. Of how close they were to defeat,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}