World Series Game 1 was a close one.
Then the bottom of the sixth inning happened.
The Blue Jays broke the game open against the Dodgers with a nine-run frame, as pinch-hitter Addison Barger smacked a grand slam and catcher Alejandro Kirk hit a two-run shot soon after. It propelled Toronto to an impressive 11-4 win.
The game was tied 2-2 when the half inning started before Los Angeles starter Blake Snell allowed the first three runners to reach.
Reliever Emmett Sheehan did little to stop the bleeding when Ernie Clement singled in the go-ahead run before Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk and Andres Gimenez collected a run-scoring single to make it 5-2— all before an out was recorded.
Sheehan did get George Springer to ground into a force out, but with the bases still loaded, the Blue Jays sent up Barger to pinch hit for left fielder Davis Schneider. The Dodgers countered with left reliever Anthony Banda, but it did not matter.
Barger crushed a 2-1 pitch 413 feet to right field to blow things open. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, it was the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.
Three batters later, Kirk followed with a two-run shot.
The nine runs were the most runs scored in a World Series inning since the Tigers scored 10 in one frame in Game 6 of the 1968 World Series, according to ESPN.