Barger, Varsho and Kirk lead homer barrage as Blue Jays rout Dodgers 11-4 in World Series opener

By RONALD BLUM TORONTO AP Addison Barger launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history Alejandro Kirk added a two-run homer in a nine-run sixth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays overwhelmed the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers - in the opener Friday night That s the epitome of our offense disclosed Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement who laced a tiebreaking single in the sixth It s a collective effort and everybody just doing their job Daulton Varsho started Toronto s comeback from a - deficit with a two-run drive in the fourth off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell I ve faced him before plenty of times He s obviously dominated me Varsho explained It s one of those guys where you ve got to get your best swing off and whatever happens happens The longball barrage was fitting as the Fall Classic returned to Toronto for the first time since when Joe Carter hit the second walk-off homer to end a World Series And in an strange tie to that night years ago Varsho is named after Darren Daulton the Philadelphia Phillies catcher Mitch Williams was throwing to when Carter connected Shohei Ohtani hit his first Series home run for the heavily favored Dodgers seeking to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees took three titles in a row from - Los Angeles was trailing by nine when he went deep off Braydon Fisher for a two-run shot in the seventh his fourth homer in two games Fans angry that Ohtani spurned the Blue Jays to sign a million contract with the Dodgers in December chanted We don t need you when he came to the plate in the ninth Don t poke the bear Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt revealed Challenge in the best-of-seven series is at Rogers Centre on Saturday night They bring it every night Clement commented referring to Blue Jays fans The last minimal months honestly they ve been selling this place out and giving us a ton of ability We re lucky to have these fans Playing after a one-week layoff following its National League Championship Series sweep Los Angeles took a - lead against -year-old rookie Trey Yesavage on RBI singles by Kik Hern ndez in the second and Will Smith in the third Yesavage made his fourth postseason start one more than his regular-season career total At years days old he became the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series opener behind Brooklyn s Ralph Branca at years days in at Yankee Stadium Yesavage made chosen key pitches during his four innings leaving the bases loaded in the second by retiring Ohtani on a groundout and stranding a runner at third the next inning when he struck out Max Muncy Seranthony Dom nguez got the win with hitless innings Varsho s homer was the first off Snell by a left-handed hitter since Juan Soto connected for the Yankees on June last year Snell gave up a career-high five hits on changeups and allowed five runs eight hits and three walks in five-plus innings Blake just didn t have good fastball command Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reported There were just a couple bad walks in there Snell pitched in the Series for the first time since with Tampa Bay when he was removed in the sixth inning of Meeting while pitching a shutout against the Dodgers Los Angeles rallied against the Rays bullpen for its first championship since Now the Dodgers are chasing their third title in six years Coming off a seven-game ALCS against Seattle that ended Monday Toronto got hits and key contributions from Bo Bichette and Varsho who combined with Vladimir Guerrero Jr to become the first trio of sons of former major leaguers to start for one association in a Series battle Returning from a sprained left knee that had sidelined him since Sept Bichette played second base for the first time in six years and favored the knee He singled in the first ranged to the left side of the infield to field a grounder and save a run then with the sum - drew a full-count walk from Snell starting the sixth Twelve batters went to the plate in the inning Clement singled off reliever Emmet Sheehan for a - lead pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk and Andr s Gim nez added an RBI single Barger greeted left-hander Anthony Banda with a -foot drive to right-center on a hanging slider to put Toronto ahead - Just a blackout moment Just crazy Barger mentioned I was choking up a little bit just trying to put the ball in the air and get a run in Kirk who singled off the right-field wall a pitch before Varsho s homer added his fourth home run of the postseason We just didn t make pitches when we need to to keep that contest close Roberts commented We need to be better Up next Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman start Saturday night Yamamoto won Contest of the Series last year allowing one run and one hit over innings in a - triumph over the Yankees and is coming off the first postseason complete championship in eight years a three-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers Gausman will be making his Series debut AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb