It may have been the first Toronto Blue Jays appearance in a World Series in over 30 years, but you wouldn’t know it from the final score. Addison Barger smacked home a Grand Slam to lead the Blue Jays to an 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2025 World Series.
Amidst all of the festivities, here are five unique things about the victory.
1. First Ever Pinch Hit Grand Slam
The biggest story of the game came from the bat of Barger, 27, who pinch hit a Grand Slam in the sixth inning. Not only did it put the Blue Jays in an excellent spot for the rest of the game, but it was a historic moment.
According to Sportsnet Stats, Barger’s Grand Slam was the first ever to come off the bat of a pinch hitter. He finished Game 1 with two at-bats (AB), two hits, and four Runs Batted In (RBI).
2. Smallest Salary Strikes Out Biggest Salary
Trey Yesavage struck out Shohei Ohtani for the first out to begin Game 1. As one keen observer on social media pointed out, Ohtani makes 824 times Yesavage’s salary.
Muhammad Lila, CEO of the Goodable App, shared a post on social media highlighting the significant pay gap between the opposing players. Ohtani is being paid approximately $46 million compared to Yesavage’s $57,204.
Yesavage is only earning $57,000 for his salary in 2025. However, Spotrac shows he received a $4,175,000 signing bonus upon joining the Blue Jays in 2024.
The 22-year-old rookie has now played seven games across the regular season and playoffs in the MLB. Yesavage has earned a 3-1 record overall, with 43 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched between the regular season and postseason.
3. Dodgers & Grand Slams in the World Series
As mentioned above, Barger hit the first Grand Slam ever by a pinch hitter in a World Series. According to The Athletic, there have been four total Grand Slams to occur in MLB postseason history.
Jayson Stark reports that the Dodgers have now allowed three of those four Grand Slams. Stark says, “In the 2016 NLCS, Joe Blanton served up a pinch slam to the Cubs’ Miguel Montero. In the 1995 Division Series, the Dodgers’ Mark Guthrie gave up a pinch slam to the Reds’ Mark Lewis. And then there was this one.”
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Anthony Banda was the pitcher that Barger hit the Slam off of. Adding insult to injury, it was on the first pitch that Banda threw in the game.
4. Bo Bichette’s Historic Return
Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette played his first game of the postseason in Game 1 of the World Series. He has been sidelined with a PCL sprain since September 6, reports Sportsnet.
Bichette’s return is historic because it was the first time that he had played second base in the MLB. His typical position has been shortstop, which was where Andres Gimenez played in Game 1.
Gimenez has played shortstop for the whole postseason before the World Series.
5. Yesavage Made Blue Jays History
According to Sportsnet, Yesavage was the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series opener.
However, he finished the game with five strikeouts, bringing his postseason total to 27. Yesavage’s 27 strikeouts are the most of any Blue Jays pitcher in a single playoff run. The previous record was 23 strikeouts, held by David Price.
Game 2 of the World Series will be on Saturday, October 25th.
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