The Toronto Blue Jays clinched their first World Series berth in 32 years on October 20 with a 4-3 win that became an instant Game 7 classic. George Springer knocked a game-winning three-run homer to give his team the lead, and Jays closer Jeff Hoffman put the exclamation point on it with a stellar ninth-inning showing.
Hoffman faced the bottom two batters in the Seattle Mariners' order before it turned over again to leadoff man Julio Rodríguez. Hoffman fooled Leo Rivas on a full-count, six-pitch at-bat, finishing him off with a four seamer at the top of the zone. Dominic Canzone's at-bat went similarly, and he struck out on the same pitch in the same spot to bring Rodríguez, who homered earlier in the game, to the plate.
Hoffman didn't show him a single pitch inside the zone, but it didn't matter. Rodríguez worked out to a 3-2 count after swinging at two devastating sliders way off the plate — he needed a hit or a walk to pass the incredibly high stakes off to slugger Cal Raleigh, the next man up. But Hoffman loosed another slider way outside, and Rodríguez swung. His bat clipped the ball as it landed in Alejandro Kirk's glove.
Hoffman on October 20 became the second pitcher in history to strike out the side in the final inning of a Game 7. The other is Calvin Schiraldi, who fanned the final three batters in the Boston Red Sox's 1986 ALCS matchup against the California Angels (per Sarah Langs of ESPN).
Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman joins former Red Sox Calvin Schiraldi as the only pitchers to strike out the side in the final inning of a Game 7
Jeff Hoffman was drafted by the @BlueJays in 2014 and traded away in 2015.
— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2025
He returned to the organization 10 years later and just sent Toronto to the World Series! pic.twitter.com/cEzirpvXcQ
Schiraldi had a significantly larger lead to protect than Hoffman, with an 8-1 advantage over the Angels on October 15, 1986. He pitched the final two innings, and closed the game with three-straight punchouts of Gary Pettis, Jack Howell and Jerry Narron to secure the Sox's first pennant in 11 years, since the 1975 squad made it to the World Series against the Reds.
The Curse of the Bambino was 68 years old in 1986, and Boston's return to the World Series had insanely high stakes. The Red Sox had a series lead over the Mets, three games to two, at the start of Game 6, and they seemed well on their way to a series win. But Bill Buckner's famous error allowed New York to force a Game 7, where Boston lost and the Curse lived on.
The Blue Jays have a daunting task ahead of them in the 2025 World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to win back-to-back titles, and beating them with their insane star power won't be easy. Even if it doesn't pan out for Toronto, at least it has Hoffman's history and an all-time Game 7 to look back on, just as Red Sox fans did in 1986 and until the Curse was broken 18 years later.