Something clicked for the Toronto Blue Jays’ batting order in the latter part of May. They became an offensive juggernaut. And while the marquee names were present with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a Bo Bichette return to form and a resurgent season from George Springer, the supporting players truly elevated this group.
The star players were obviously vital, but the contributions from the remaining players is what truly made the Blue Jays a formidable offense, from top to bottom.
That was clearly evident in Game 1 of the World Series, an 11-4 dominant victory over the defending champion Dodgers.
The defining hit of the game was a pinch-hit grand slam from Addison Barger, the first such hit in World Series history. What better illustrates overall team strength than something like this occurring?
Barger started the season having played in only 225 MLB plate appearances, posting a .197/.250/.351 (68 OPS+) batting line. He took 502 plate appearances in the 2025 regular season, hitting .243/.301/.454 with 32 doubles and 21 home runs. He tallied 20 home runs in 377 at-bats against right-handed pitchers, but often struggled against lefties and typically avoided facing them. Here, he delivered one of the most significant hits in World Series history against a left-hander in Anthony Banda.
“If I’m being honest, I don’t even recall,” Barger said after the game when asked what he was contemplating while circling the bases. He described it as a “blackout moment.”
Nathan Lukes had pinch hit earlier in the inning and earned a bases-loaded walk after getting into an 0-2 hole. He fouled off four pitches during that plate appearance. His walk extended the Blue Jays’ lead to 4-2. It’s a testament to the Blue Jays’ roster depth that they utilized two pinch hitters in one of the most important innings in World Series history.
Lukes wasn’t a highly touted prospect. He was never considered much of a prospect at all. A seventh-round pick in 2015, Lukes spent a decade in the minor leagues. He was close to retiring before finally being granted an opportunity. He’s currently 31 years old. In 135 games this season, he hit .255/.323/.407. In the playoffs, he’s found a home in the second spot in the batting order, hitting between Springer and Guerrero. In the ALDS and ALCS, Lukes hit .333/.381/.410 with seven RBI in 11 games.
The Blue Jays actually trailed Game 1 of the World Series Friday night, 2-0, heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. Daulton Varsho — named after his dad’s former teammate Darren Daulton, who was the catcher during Joe Carter’s 1993 World Series walk-off home run in this stadium — launched a two-run shot.
That was the first home run Blake Snell gave up to a left-handed batter since June 2 of last year and that was to the outstanding Juan Soto. Snell hadn’t even conceded a single hit to a left-handed hitter thus far in the 2025 playoffs.
Varsho, whose father Gary spent time as a fourth outfielder with the Cubs, Pirates, Phillies and Reds and later became an MLB scout, was a second-round pick out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2017. He progressed through the minor leagues primarily as a catcher and was traded to the Jays by the Diamondbacks in exchange for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Now, Varsho is among the premier defensive center fielders in baseball, an incredible achievement for a former minor-league catcher. Varsho was injured for a significant portion of the 2025 season, but he still managed to hit 20 home runs in only 71 games, posting a .548 slugging percentage. He was dominant against the Yankees in the ALDS, going 7 for 16 with three doubles, two homers, four RBI and seven runs in four games.
Two innings after Varsho tied the game, Ernie Clement’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the sixth gave the Blue Jays the lead for the first time in a World Series game since Carter’s home run in 1993. That single ignited the historic, nine-run inning; only two innings in World Series history (the 1968 Tigers and 1929 Athletics) have ever witnessed a team score more runs.
Clement was a fourth-round pick in 2017. He was claimed off waivers by the A’s from Cleveland and then released in the spring of 2023 before inking a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays. This year, he quietly produced a 4.3-WAR season, acting as a utility infielder. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, he hit .429/.444/.619 with seven RBI and 10 runs in 11 games.
Between Barger, Varsho, Clement, Lukes, catcher Alejandro Kirk — he’s a two-time All-Star, but I believe he still qualifies as “supporting cast” on this team — and shortstop Andrés Giménez, the Blue Jays tallied eight hits, all 11 RBI and nine runs scored from their role players.
Remember, Giménez hit a pair of game-changing, two-run home runs in the ALCS in Seattle. Although he was quiet in Game 1, Davis Schneider is another supporting cast guy who has come through often for the Blue Jays this season.
Here in World Series Game 1, Kirk launched a two-run home run after the game was likely already decided, but he deserves recognition as well. A stocky 5-foot-8, 245 pounds, Kirk certainly doesn’t possess the physique of a typical modern athlete, but he’s a very capable player. He went 3 for 3 with a walk and home run Friday night, following a .282/.348/.421 (111 OPS+) season. Similar to the rest of the supporting cast, he wasn’t setting the world on fire or anything, but maintaining consistent production throughout the lineup is what enabled the Blue Jays to become a potent offense in the regular season.
In fact, they were among the most productive offenses in all of 2025, leading the majors in batting average. It was May 29 when they truly began to excel, though. From that game through the end of the season, the Blue Jays hit .279/.342/.455, compared to the league average this season of .245/.315/.404. The league average runs per game was 4.45. From May 29 until the end of the regular season, the Blue Jays scored 5.5 runs a game. In that time span, the Jays were first in batting average, second in on-base percentage and first in slugging percentage.
Bichette, Guerrero and Springer had exceptional years. The previously mentioned return to form from Bichette and resurgence from Springer were vital, as was the All-Star season from Guerrero. This was not, however, a team heavily reliant on its top players. It’s a team with tremendous depth. And that was apparent in Game 1 of the World Series.
