The Dodgers Los Angeles won in dramatic fashion this Saturday, and for the second consecutive season, the World Series of the Major Leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English), with Cuban Andy Pagés among the heroes of his glorious evening.
At the Rogers Center, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Californian troop managed to disrupt the local celebration and won with a tight score of 5-4 at the height of the inning 11, giving way to what could become a new dynasty.
THE LOS ANGELES @DODGERS ARE THE 2025 #WORLDSERIES CHAMPIONS! #CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/EoDS73MXVk
—MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match for good reasons. In addition to scoring the victory (3-1) the day before that took the duel to the limit, he was in charge of sealing the coronation with a legendary relay.
However, the magic of the game would not have been possible without the home run by Venezuelan Miguel Rojas, which tied the score in the ninth inning, nor without the spectacular fielding of Pagés on a long hit by Clement – including a collision with his teammate Kike Hernández – that sent the game into extra innings.
The man from Pinar del Río had a new opportunity to shine minutes later, in the tenth inningwhen approaching the batter’s box with all the pads occupied. However, this postseason has not been generous to him when wielding the wood, and his connection through the box failed to break the tie on the scoreboard.
Andy Pages was just inserted into the game minutes ago
He just made one of the biggest catches in Dodgers history pic.twitter.com/3g9BwBOUCF
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) November 2, 2025
The moment of glory seemed reserved for Will Smith, who disappeared the ball in front of Shane Bieber, with the bases empty. The home run—the first in extra inning of a seventh game of the World Series—would have been enough to immortalize him on the altar of the Series, had it not been for Yamamoto closing the tie, leaving an opponent just 90 feet away from tying the score.
With that outcome, the Dodgers became the first team to successfully defend their crown since the Yankees did so between 1998 and 2000.
For their part, the Blue Jays were on the verge of returning to the MLB throne, which they have not occupied since their consecutive titles in 1992 and 1993.
A Pinareño in court
Beyond his discreet performance in the postseason, Andy Pagés has plenty of reasons to feel proud.
In the regular season he had performances that consolidated the confidence of helmsman Dave Roberts, who gave him a decisive turn that could define the championship, just days after Pagés saved his team with a legendary catch.
Andy Pagés equals an old record of “Duque” Hernández and is the first Cuban in the World Series
Before reaching the decisive phase of the championship, turnaround player Andy Pagés recorded an offensive average of .272 and hit 27 home runs, figures that reflected his consistency during the regular season.
Everything changed in the final stretch: in 58 at-bats he barely managed four hits, including an extra-base double, for an average of .078, according to official MLB statistics.
Despite this, the Dodgers’ victory gave him his second consecutive World Series ring, an achievement that, among Cuban-born players, only Orlando “El Duke” Hernández had achieved with the New York Yankees in 1998 and 1999.
