Dodgers win back-to-back World Series as daring Dave Roberts decision saves season

The last MLB team to win back-to-back championships was the 1999-2000 New York Yankees. The Los Angeles Dodgers just matched them by winning the 2025 World Series over the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games. Their 5-4 victory in Game 7 was one for the record books.

There are far too many moments to mention. But the ones that stand out are Miguel Rojas' game-tying home run in the ninth inning, Will Smith's go-ahead home run in the 11th inning, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto's incredible 2 2/3 innings that saved the season.

It was Rojas that made it all possible, though (and we can't forget about Max Muncy's key home run in the eighth).

Rojas hadn't started a postseason game since Oct. 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. After that, up until Saturday night in Game 6 of the World Series, he had logged just eight total innings for the Dodgers during their playoff run.

But manager Dave Roberts, who had plenty of other lineup alterations at his disposal (he still didn't play Hyeseong Kim for a single inning!), decided to start Rojas with the season on the line in Toronto. In Game 6 he went 0-for-3, but the Dodgers won 3-1 behind another dominant Yamamoto start.

Rojas got the nod again on Saturday night despite the Dodgers desperately in need of answers on offense. He was among their weakest links this year despite solid numbers off the bench. But Roberts went with his gut.

And he was rewarded. On a 3-2 count with one out in the top of the ninth, Rojas' solo blast off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman tied the game at 4-4.

Dodgers capture second straight World Series with victory over Blue Jays in 2025

Not pinch-hitting for Rojas there felt insane. It seemed even crazier that Rojas was about to work a walk in that at-bat. Everybody was thinking there was no possible way Hoffman could afford to walk the No. 9 hitter up by a run and with Ohtani on deck.

Instead, his slider, the ninth pitch of the at-bat, caught too much of the plate, and Rojas made him pay. That allowed for Smith's heroic home run. That made Yamamoto's legend grow far more significantly than anybody believed it could back in 2023. That made Blake Snell's clutch showing in relief that much more meaningful. That made Andy Pages insane catch in the bottom of the ninth a play that will be on the eternal highlight reel.

Clayton Kershaw will ride off into the sunset a champion. The Dodgers are in the midst of building a dynasty that could rival the last one we saw when the Yankees conquered the late-1990s. And it was only two outs away from making all of the above irrelevant.

Roberts has drawn the ire of Dodgers fans for years. But he's now oversaw three incredible World Series runs that have featured unthinkable comebacks at various stages. In 2020 it was against the Braves in the NLCS. In 2024 it was against the Padres in the NLDS. In 2025 it was against the Blue Jays in the World Series. And the most recent comes on the heels of one of the most unthinkable decisions of his tenure by leaning on Rojas.

Baseball.