TORONTO — During the previous month and a half, a premature advantage with Blake Snell pitching has consistently equaled a straightforward triumph for the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, confronting the Toronto Blue Jays — possessors of an MLB-leading 49 come-from-behind victories in the regular season and creators of an extraordinarily forceful offense throughout the playoffs — on Friday in the World Series’ opening contest, that ordinarily reassuring predicament proved to be anything but.
Following Toronto’s 2-0 deficit to Los Angeles after three innings, Daulton Varsho’s game-equalizing, two-run dinger in the fourth inning’s latter half served as an essential initial riposte in what transformed into a comprehensive collapse on the pitching mound for the Dodgers. Toronto erupted for nine runs in the sixth inning, emphasized by Addison Barger’s remarkable, pinch-hit grand slam — the initial occurrence of its kind in World Series annals. Shohei Ohtani’s inaugural career World Series home run, a towering, two-run projectile in the seventh, ultimately stood as a minor detail in an 11-4 Toronto victory.
That Varsho launched a significant home run in October is not especially shocking. The 29-year-old center fielder reveled in a considerable surge in power during 2025, albeit within a limited sample because of shoulder surgery that postponed his commencement to the season and a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for the entirety of June and July. Nonetheless, when healthy, Varsho slugged like never before, crushing 20 home runs across 71 regular-season matchups and recording career-best statistics in barrel rate, average exit velocity, and hard-hit rate. His .310 ISO was ranked seventh among MLB hitters with a minimum of 250 plate appearances, trailing a who’s who of the game’s foremost power hitters: Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani, Nick Kurtz, Kyle Schwarber, and Giancarlo Stanton.
[Get more Toronto news: Blue Jays team feed]
Nevertheless, a crucial stipulation concerning Varsho’s breakthrough season is that the overwhelming majority of his output occurred against right-handed pitching. The initial 18 of his 20 homers in the regular season were achieved against righties, and his OPS against southpaws (.701) was notably inferior to that against right-handers (.865). Due to his superior defense in center field, Varsho is not platooned as heavily as certain other left-handed bats present on the Jays’ roster, but his degree of ease against same-handed pitching has represented an ongoing development.
And on Friday, this wasn’t just any left-hander Varsho was competing against. Snell is a two-time Cy Young recipient who peaked during the final stretch and proved virtually unhittable in three previous postseason starts (0.86 ERA across 21 innings). Snell hadn’t conceded a home run in his preceding 49 2/3 innings, regular season and postseason combined, dating back to Aug. 29. He had yet to yield a hit to a left-handed hitter in October, and he hadn’t permitted a home run to a lefty batter since Juan Soto sent one deep on June 2, 2024.
Unfazed, Varsho approached the plate in the bottom of the fourth as the tying run after Alejandro Kirk initiated the inning with a profound single off the right-field wall to conclude an eight-pitch at-bat. Evidently, Varsho possessed less interest in engaging in a protracted duel: He unleashed his rapid and robust swing on Snell’s first offering, a 96.1-mph fastball situated in the heart of the strike zone, and propelled it directly over the pitcher’s cranium, ascending towards center field. Approximately 423 projected feet later, the ball impacted high above the fence off the navy blue batter’s eye, resulting in a game-equalizing, two-run detonation that energized the Rogers Centre attendance of 44,353 and infused a much-needed surge of assurance into the Blue Jays’ dugout.
“For me, [facing] lefties has been fluctuating,” Varsho acknowledged subsequently. “Immediately, I was struggling against them. I wasn’t encountering left-handed starters very often. … But overall, I began to feel comfortable, adopting a superior approach, simply knowing what I must swing at and what I must decline. And obviously, merely endeavoring to locate a favorable pitch to hit and attempting not to miss it.”
“I believe his initial at-bat involved a breaking ball that he nearly missed,” manager John Schneider stated postgame, alluding to Varsho’s first-inning flyout on a curveball positioned in the middle of the plate. “And I observed him preparing to attack a fastball.
“Tomorrow will entail a different set of circumstances, but these contests hinge on players in the moment making modifications and executing. Blake is an exceptionally talented pitcher. You’re going to be compelled to perform something akin to that, make him labor early, and ideally, you’ll capitalize on a mistake. But Varsh and everyone present there will not retreat, which constitutes what I admire about this group.”
Varsho’s most significant Blue Jays moment to date signifies the apex in a tenure that has encompassed no dearth of peaks and valleys. Selected by Arizona in 2017, Varsho materialized in Toronto via trade in December 2022, a transaction that did not initially appear advantageous for the Jays, considering Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno’s immediate triumph as D-backs. While his exceptional glove in center has solely improved with the Blue Jays — a remarkable development considering Varsho’s background as a catcher early in his career — his bat lagged behind during his first two years as a Blue Jay, and there existed scant justification for optimism entering Year 3, considering his 2024 concluded with right shoulder surgery.
However, behind closed doors, Varsho remained intent on ascertaining what functions optimally for him within the batter’s box, even while recovering from a procedure that impacted his upper-body mobility in the early stages.
“Obviously, the initial two seasons weren’t the seasons that I believe everyone anticipated from me,” he commented. “And this season, obviously, being injured and encountering a degree of inconsistency with injuries. I believe, holistically, grasping my swing and what I must execute to achieve success up here has been invaluable. Truthfully, it’s been among the blessings of possessing our new hitting coaches here because I’ve assimilated a substantial amount regarding it.”
The trio of offensive intellects Varsho references — hitting coach David Popkins and assistant hitting coaches Hunter Mense and Lou Iannotti — assisted him in cultivating a mindset at the plate that optimizes his innate physical capabilities. Request Varsho to elucidate that approach, and the response sounds counterintuitive.
“For me, I’m endeavoring to hit a ground ball back to the pitcher,” he elucidated. “That’s been my objective all season. I recognize it’s not, like, what everyone communicates regarding launch angle. [But] I literally strive to hit a ground ball directly back to the pitcher, and it functions effectively for me.
“It’s remarkably effortless for me to elevate the ball,” Varsho continued, whose 31.6% groundball rate ranks sixth-lowest in MLB during the preceding three seasons. “I’ve comprehended that throughout my entire life. Thus, for me, I must genuinely exaggerate descending to the baseball, and it transpires favorably for me because I am capable of maintaining my bat within the zone for an extended duration when I execute that.”
In striking a balance between how his swing operates and which approach yields the most favorable outcomes, Varsho unlocked a new echelon at the plate, one that has augmented his comprehensive profile.
“I wish Varsh had remained healthy throughout the year, for his sake and for ours, but predominantly for his sake,” Schneider conveyed following Game 1. “He’s consistently possessed this potential. … and I believe he’s merely evolving into a complete player. We invariably consider his defense and his baserunning, but the incorporated threat there with the power is immense.”
Amid a Blue Jays playoff surge characterized by diverse players elevating their performance at varying junctures to ensure the magical journey persists, Varsho’s heroics on Friday epitomized something of a pivotal stepping stone. His fourth-inning swat ignited the bats, and an avalanche of offense ensued, encapsulating the fully functional state of Toronto’s lineup and illustrating just how perilous this offense can prove to be.
Should the Blue Jays aspire to succeed in dethroning the reigning champions, a comprehensive team endeavor will continue to be mandated each night. In Game 2 on Saturday, Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto looms as Toronto’s next substantial challenge.
“It genuinely represented a commendable approach from everyone today,” Schneider stated. “Then you must prepare for tomorrow against another exceptionally formidable pitcher.”
