TORONTO — Third baseman Ernie Clement‘s eyes welled up as he spoke to reporters on one end of the clubhouse while tears flowed down the left side of pitcher Max Scherzer‘s face on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, closer Jeff Hoffman‘s voice wavered and cracked as he accepted blame for the Toronto Blue Jays‘ devastating, extra-innings defeat in Saturday’s Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The postgame emotions of the team were raw and unfiltered.

“It sucks,” Hoffman said after the 5-4 loss. “Supposed to end differently. Was just one pitch. I cost everybody here a World Series ring. It feels pretty s—ty.”

Hoffman was two outs from earning the save, which would have sent a whole country into celebration. Instead, Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas took him deep on a 3-2 slider, tying the score. Two innings later, Dodgers catcher Will Smith did the same to starter-turned-reliever Shane Bieber, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the night and the final margin of victory.

“Hung a slider to a great guy who hits sliders well,” Bieber said. “He was looking for it. I didn’t execute. This one stings. It’s going to sting for a while. This game is not for the faint of heart.”

Scherzer said Saturday’s loss was all the more heartbreaking because of the camaraderie within the team.

“I’m 41 years old and I never thought I could love baseball this much,” Scherzer said while wiping away tears. “My love for the game was so strong because of their love for the game.

“That loss is so tough because you’re so close to everybody. This team had that closeness, had that camaraderie. We had that passion not only for the game but for each other.”

Scherzer, 41, pitched 4⅓ innings in Game 7, giving up just one run on four hits before leaving to a standing ovation. He vowed that he hadn’t thrown his last pitch in the big leagues but said he wasn’t in the right state of mind to expand on his future plans.

Scherzer departed the game with a 3-1 lead, thanks to a Bo Bichette three-run homer in the third. Like Scherzer, Bichette is a free agent but afterward maintained his desire to stay in Toronto.

“I want to be here, but I just lost a Game 7,” Bichette said, waving off any further questions about his future. “I hit that homer, but the game wasn’t over at that point.”

The Jays kept their lead all the way until the ninth, when Hoffman gave it up to Rojas. The crowd fell silent, hoping the bottom of the inning would produce a winning play. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s blast to center field gave them a moment of hope, but even the Jays star knew it wasn’t going out.

“People that know me know I stand at home plate and watch them go out,” Guerrero said through the team interpreter. “I knew it wasn’t going anywhere.”

After it was all over, Guerrero went to each locker to deliver a message to his teammates.

“Told them how proud of the job that they did,” he said. “I can’t be any prouder of my teammates and all the things we accomplished this year.”

It was the same message manager John Schneider delivered in what he described as his first team meeting all season. It came after their toughest defeat.

“I said thank you,” Schneider said. “I said thank you probably about 10 times. And that was the main message.”

Perhaps most emotional was Clement. He set a record for most hits in a single postseason with 30, though one more — in the ninth inning with the bases loaded — would have won the series. Instead, he was robbed at the wall by Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages.

Clement said he spent an hour after the game crying and hugging his teammates.

“We gave it everything we had,” Clement said. “When you fall short but you can say you left it all out there, there’s something to be proud of there.

“I would go to war with Jeff Hoffman every day of the week. I want him on the mound. I want Bieber on the mound. Ninety-nine times out of 100 those guys get the job done. Obviously, it just wasn’t our night.”

But it was their season, at least until the very end. After finishing in last place in 2024, the Blue Jays won the AL East and reached Game 7 of the World Series. Although it wasn’t their desired finish, Blue Jays players said the journey was meaningful.

“Everyone in here is pretty devastated,” pitcher Kevin Gausman said. “We’re a really good team. It took them playing perfect and having a great last couple innings to beat us and that’s what happened.”

Said Bieber: “This group is unlike any other I’ve ever been a part of. That’s a sentiment we all kind of feel personally.”

Baseball is America’s Pastime because of the iconic moments the sport has delivered.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays provided several incredible instances that left fans in disbelief. Sports figures like Caitlin Clark and Chris Paul were among those who were left in shock by how epic Game 7 of the World Series was.

The Dodgers may have won the World Series, 5-4, but it captured the hearts and minds of fans over the course of Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

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Read below for the top five moments of Game 7.

5). Clayton Kershaw ending his career on a high note

It looked pretty bleak for a while. Clayton Kershaw was stuck watching the Blue Jays try to wrap up a victory against the Dodgers, which would have ended their 32-year World Series title drought. Instead, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and Will Smith turned the game around in a hurry.

Kershaw got to end his career with a third championship ring as his next stop is Cooperstown and enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He addressed his teammates in the locker room right before the champagne began to spray.

“It’s an absolute honor to be in this clubhouse with you guys. I love every single one of you,” he said. “I can’t imagine a better way to go out than to pop bottles with this group of guys. We’re back-to-back champs!”

4). Bo Bichette’s three-run home run

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette, right, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrate Bichette’s three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 7 of baseball’s World Series in Toronto on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Rogers Centre was buzzing early in the game. Blue Jays fans were waiting for something amazing to happen and they got it. Bo Bichette, who was battling a knee injury, clobbered a three-run home run in the third inning to give the Blue Jays the lead.

Bichette was 2-for-4 before manager John Schneider pinch-ran for him later in the game.

DODGERS CAPTURE BACK-TO-BACK WORLD SERIES TITLES AFTER EPIC GAME 7 VICTORY OVER BLUE JAYS

3). Andy Pages’ catch over Enrique Hernandez

Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement had the bases loaded and a chance to establish himself next to Joe Carter in the lore of the organization. Clement drove a pitch deep to left-center field.

Enrique Hernandez was tracking the ball but would have needed to make an over-the-head catch to end the inning. Instead, center fielder Andy Pages came over and caught the ball over Hernandez. Pages steamrolled Hernandez to make the grab, it kept Los Angeles’ hope alive.

2). Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s magical 2-plus innings

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto lifts the World Series MVP trophy as the Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of baseball’s World Series, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Dodgers called on Yamamoto to help the team out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth inning – a night after he pitched six innings in the Dodgers’ Game 6 win.

Yamamoto entered the game for Blake Snell and was able to end the bases-loaded threat. He then shut down Toronto in the 10th and 11th innings to seal the deal. He won three games in the World Series and was named the World Series MVP.

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1). Will Smith’s go-ahead home run

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 Nov. 2, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

It was a moment that will be remembered in Dodgers’ history for a long time. Smith hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the 11th inning off Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber to give Los Angeles the 5-4 lead. 

He was the first MLB player in history to homer in extra innings of a World Series in Game 7, according to Opta Stats.

It was Los Angeles’ first lead in the game and the magical moment helped give the Dodgers the win.

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