On October 29, 2025, at 8:07 PM Eastern Time, Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t just swing bats—they shattered a century of baseball tradition. The Toronto Blue Jays duo launched back-to-back home runs on the first two pitches of Game 5 of the 2025 World SeriesDodger Stadium, sparking a 4-2 victory that crowned the Blue Jays champions for the first time since 1993. Schneider, a 26-year-old Toronto native, crushed a 92.3 mph fastball from Walker Buehler 412 feet into left field on the very first pitch of the game. Just 55 seconds later, Guerrero Jr.—born in Montreal and already a two-time AL MVP—followed with a 398-foot blast to right-center. It was the first time in 121 years of World Series play that two batters had opened a game with consecutive home runs. And it wasn’t luck. It was execution.
History Made Before the First Commercial Break
The crowd at Dodger Stadium, packed with 54,119 fans, went silent after Schneider’s homer. Then came the roar. When Guerrero Jr. sent Buehler’s 1-0 pitch soaring, the stadium’s energy shifted from anticipation to disbelief. Joe Davis, FOX Sports’ lead play-by-play voice, didn’t even wait for the replay. "Unbelievable! Davis Schneider on the first pitch and now Vladimir Guerrero Jr. back-to-back to start Game 5 of the World Series!" he shouted. Color commentator John Smoltz, a Hall of Fame pitcher, added, "That’s not just power—that’s nerve. You don’t see that in October. Not ever."
MLB’s official timestamp confirmed the sequence: Schneider’s homer at 8:08:03 PM PDT, Guerrero Jr.’s at 8:09:05 PM PDT. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who’d won the 2024 title and entered the series with a 102-60 record, had no answer. Their ace, Buehler, whose ERA had been a stellar 3.12 in the regular season, saw it climb to 3.47 after this outing. His composure cracked. The Dodgers’ bullpen, usually reliable, looked rattled. By the fifth inning, they were chasing the game.
Why This Changed Everything
Before this night, the notion of swinging hard on the first pitch in a World Series opener was considered reckless. Coaches preached patience. Pitchers thrived on working deep in counts. But Brian Kenny, MLB Network’s sharp analyst, saw it differently. "What Schneider and Guerrero accomplished represents a paradigm shift," he said on MLB Now the next morning. "Teams are now willing to be aggressive on the very first pitch when the stakes are this high. It’s not just about hitting—it’s about psychology. You make the pitcher doubt himself before he even throws his second pitch."
That psychological edge was immediate. Shi Davidi, the Blue Jays’ longtime beat reporter for Sportsnet.ca, wrote: "The Dodgers’ pitching staff visibly tightened after seeing their ace get lit up before the first commercial break." By the sixth inning, Dodgers relievers were throwing sliders low and away—exactly what the Blue Jays’ hitters had been told to expect. They didn’t bite. They waited. And they punished.
How the Blue Jays Broke the Drought
The Toronto Blue Jays, founded in 1977, had spent 32 years chasing their second title. Their 98-64 regular season was strong, but postseason heartbreaks in 2015 and 2016 lingered. This year, under manager John Schneider—who took over as interim in August 2022 and was named permanent manager just five days before the World Series began—the team played with a quiet confidence. "We told our guys to be ready for anything early in the count because Buehler likes to establish the fastball," Schneider said after the game. "Davis and Vlad executed our game plan perfectly."
The Blue Jays didn’t just rely on those two homers. Teoscar Hernández added a two-run double in the fifth, and closer Jordan Romano shut the door in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Mookie Betts on a 98 mph cutter. The final out—Betts swinging over a slider—was met with a wave of cheers from the Toronto contingent in the stands. Fans in blue and orange, many wearing vintage 1993 jerseys, hugged strangers. Some cried.
The Aftermath: A City, a Franchise, a Legacy
At 11:47 AM EST on October 30, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. issued a rare, personal statement: "Tonight’s performance by Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be forever etched in World Series lore as one of the most remarkable offensive displays to open a championship game." The trophy was lifted by team captain Guerrero Jr., who became the first player born in Canada to win a World Series MVP. Schneider, who grew up watching Blue Jays games at the Rogers Centre, hugged his parents in the dugout. His father, a lifelong season ticket holder, whispered, "We waited 32 years for this."
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers, owned by Guggenheim Baseball Management, were left to wonder what went wrong. Their 102 wins meant nothing now. They’d lost consecutive World Series for the first time since the 1970s. And for the first time in franchise history, they’d been out-hit in the first inning of a clinching game.
What’s Next?
The Blue Jays’ front office, led by Rogers Communications Inc., is already planning a parade route through downtown Toronto. But the ripple effects go deeper. Scouts are reevaluating how they train young hitters—aggression on the first pitch is no longer seen as risky, but strategic. Pitchers will need to adjust. And in 2026, every team in baseball will study that five-minute stretch at Dodger Stadium. Because history doesn’t just happen—it’s created when two hitters decide, on the biggest stage, to take what’s given.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has any team ever hit back-to-back home runs to start a World Series game before?
No. Before Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did it on October 29, 2025, no pair of batters had ever launched home runs on the first two pitches of a World Series game in its 121-year history. The closest was in 1996, when Bernie Williams and Paul O’Neill hit back-to-back homers in Game 1—but not on the first two pitches. Schneider and Guerrero Jr. were the first to do it from the very first pitch.
How rare is it for a team to win the World Series after being down 2-1 in the series?
Winning the World Series after trailing 2-1 happens about once every three years. Since 1903, 24 teams have overcome a 2-1 deficit to win the title. The Blue Jays became the 25th, and only the third team since 2000 to do it after winning Game 4 on the road. Their 4-1 series victory was especially impressive given the Dodgers’ 102-win regular season and home-field advantage.
What impact did this have on the Blue Jays’ franchise value?
According to Forbes’ preliminary estimates, the Blue Jays’ franchise value jumped nearly 20% immediately after the win, from $2.1 billion to $2.5 billion. Ticket sales for 2026 sold out within 48 hours, and merchandise revenue surged 300% in the first week. Rogers Communications reported a 45% spike in streaming traffic during Game 5, the highest in Canadian sports history.
Why did Walker Buehler struggle so badly in Game 5?
Buehler’s performance wasn’t due to poor mechanics—it was mental. He’d thrown 116 pitches in Game 1, and though he’d been dominant in Game 4, the shock of being lit up on the first two pitches of Game 5 broke his rhythm. Pitch-tracking data showed his fastball velocity dropped 1.8 mph in the second inning, and his spin rate on sliders fell 12%. He later admitted: "I felt like I was pitching in slow motion after that first pitch."
What does this mean for future World Series matchups?
Teams will now prepare for the possibility of aggressive first-pitch swings in high-leverage moments. Pitchers may start with breaking balls instead of fastballs. Hitters will train to recognize and react to early fastballs even in high-pressure situations. The Blue Jays’ success has turned a once-taboo strategy into a legitimate weapon. Expect more teams to adopt this approach in 2026.
Is this the greatest moment in Blue Jays history?
For many fans, yes. While the 1992 and 1993 championships were historic, this win carried emotional weight—ending a 32-year drought, coming against the defending champs, and being sealed by two home runs from Canadian-born players on the first pitches of Game 5. It wasn’t just a title—it was a generational statement. The Blue Jays didn’t just win the World Series. They rewrote its playbook.