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

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays fans waited 32 years to let loose cheering a World Series home run. They got to do it three times.

Addison Barger launched the first pinch-hit grand slam in Fall Classic history, Alejandro Kirk followed with a two-run homer in a nine-run sixth inning and Toronto overwhelmed the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 in Friday night's opener.

“Just madness,” Barger said of the third-highest-scoring inning in Series annals.

Daulton Varsho, limited by injuries to 71 games during the season, started Toronto's comeback from a 2-0 deficit with a two-run drive in the fourth off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.

The longball barrage was fitting as the Fall Classic returned to Toronto for the first time since 1993, when Joe Carter hit the second walk-off homer to end a World Series. And in an unusual tie to that night, Varsho is named after Darren Daulton, the Philadelphia Phillies catcher Mitch Williams was throwing to when Carter connected.

“It’s kind of a surreal moment, kind of being full circle for me. Yeah, it’s honestly an honor to be named after him,” Varsho said.

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 1998-2000. 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 $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023 chanted: “We don't need you!” when he came to the plate in the ninth.

“Don’t poke the bear,” Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt warned.

Game 1 winners have won 23 of the last 27 titles. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Saturday night at Rogers Centre.

Playing after a one-week layoff following its National League Championship Series sweep, Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead against 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage on RBI singles by Kiké Hernández in the second and Will Smith in the third.

Yesavage made his fourth postseason start — one more than his regular-season career total. At 22 years, 88 days old he became the second-youngest pitcher to start a World Series opener behind Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca at 21 years, 267 days in 1947 at Yankee Stadium.

Yesavage lasted four innings before a raucous crowd of 44,353. He left the bases loaded in the second by retiring Ohtani on a groundout and stranded a runner at third the next inning when he struck out Max Muncy.

“It was an insane experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” said Yesavage, whose first start this season was in front of 327 fans for Class-A Dunedin in Jupiter, Florida.

Dodgers star Mookie Betts called the second inning “the turning point in the game, even though it was early.”

"If you want to win you need to cash it in,” he said.

Seranthony Domínguez got the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings.

Varsho’s homer was the first off Snell by a left-handed hitter since Juan Soto connected for the Yankees on June 2 last year. Snell gave up a career-high five hits on changeups and was charged with five runs, eight hits and three walks in five-plus innings.

“There's no excuses. I need to be better. I need to throw strikes,” said Snell, who hadn't pitched since Oct. 13.

Snell was in the Series for the first time since 2020 with Tampa Bay, when he was removed in the sixth inning of Game 6 while pitching a shutout against the Dodgers. Los Angeles rallied against the Rays' bullpen for its first championship since 1988.

Now the Dodgers are chasing their third crown in six years.

Coming off a seven-game ALCS against Seattle that ended Monday, Toronto got 14 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 team in a Series game.

Returning from a sprained left knee that had sidelined him since Sept. 6, 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 score 2-2 drew a full-count walk from Snell starting the sixth.

Twelve batters went to the plate in the inning. Ernie Clement singled off reliever Emmet Sheehan for a 3-2 lead, pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk and Andrés Giménez added an RBI single.

Given a heads up he might pinch hit, Barger went to the Trajekt machine and took swings off pitches emulating Sheehan's. Then the Dodgers brought in left-hander Anthony Banda, and Barger hit a 413-foot drive to right-center on a hanging slider to put Toronto ahead 9-2.

Barger had spent Thursday night on the pullout couch of teammate Davis Schneider because Barger needed his own apartment for family attending the Series.

“I looked over and I just see him just sleeping there in the middle of the night,” Schneider said. “He's a head case, but he's funny.”

Kirk, who singled off the right-field wall a pitch before Varsho’s homer, capped the outburst with his fourth home run of the postseason and third hit of the game.

“You've got to just flush it," Banda said. “Get ready for tomorrow.”

Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman start Saturday night. Yamamoto won Game 2 of the Series last year, allowing one run and one hit over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 victory over the Yankees. He is coming off the first postseason complete game in eight years, a three-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. Gausman will be making his Series debut.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda (43) reacts as Toronto Blue Jays' Addison Barger, back left, rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam during the sixth inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho runs past the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout after hitting his two run home run during the fourth inning in Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Toronto Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Addison Barger, right, celebrates with teammates George Springer (4), Nathan Lukes, front left, and Andrés Giménez (obscured) after hitting a grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Addison Barger watches his grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)