Bo Bichette thrives in return to Blue Jays lineup…
TORONTO — For the first time in 48 days, Bo Bichette was in the Blue Jays lineup on Friday.
And for the first time in 2,382 days, he was taking part in second base.
In Game 1 of the World Series, no less.
But Bichette delivered on both sides of the ball, going 1-for-2 with a stroll and making a strong play that saved a run in the third inning as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 11-4 at Rogers Centre.
“I just tried to slow the game down and treat it like any other game,” Bichette said. “Just fall in line and have good at-bats, just like everyone else is having.”
Bichette had been sidelined since Sept. 6 with a left knee sprain that he suffered in a collision at home plate with Yankees catcher Austin Wells.
The shortstop was still too restricted bodily to make the Blue Jays roster for the ALDS or ALCS, but he was finally cleared for the World Series roster — even if he’s still not absolutely recovered.
Bo Bichette rips a single during the first inning of the Blue Jays’ 11-4 win over the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 24, 2025. AP
During the rehab course of, Bichette got here to the Blue Jays with the thought of taking part in second base — he performed 30 video games there in the minors, none since 2019 — because he may prepare faster there.
The Blue Jays had been OK with it as a method to get Bichette’s bat into the lineup — batting cleanup behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — coming off a season in which he hit .311 with a .840 OPS, while maintaining Andrés Giménez (who presents more defensively) at shortstop.
But then he saved the Blue Jays defensively in the third inning.
The Dodgers already led 2-0 and had a runner on second when Teoscar Hernández hit a ground ball up the center.
Second baseman Bo Bichette throws out Freddie Freeman on a groundout during the first inning of the Blue Jays’ win over the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series. Getty Images
Bichette ranged onto the other facet of second base, backhanded the ball and then turned to get off a strong enough throw to nail Hernández for the second out of the inning.
“Just let the athleticism take over,” said Bichette, who was hobbling after the play but stayed in until being pinch run for by Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the sixth inning.
When Shohei Ohtani got here up to bat in the ninth inning, the group serenaded him with chants of “We don’t need you!” Ohtani snubbed the Blue Jays in free company two years in the past to signal with the Dodgers.
A dejected Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout after putting out in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ loss to the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
“Don’t poke the bear,” right-hander Chris Bassitt said.
Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a stroll and two strikeouts.
The Dodgers stored Alex Vesia off their roster after asserting Thursday that the reliever stepped away from the crew “to navigate a deeply personal family matter.” They may have stored him in play to pitch later in the sequence by putting him on the household medical emergency checklist (which requires being out at least three days), but opted not to.
“We just didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just a hundred percent be supportive.”
In gentle of the NBA’s playing scandal, MLBPA govt director Tony Clark said he continued to be involved about “the safety and well-being of our players.”
“We’ve worked closely with the league to ensure the safety and well-being of our players,” Clark said Friday. “That remains front and center. That, along with the educating of our players, making sure they understand what they can and can’t do, is consistent and constant. But rest assured, every time there’s a situation that arises related to gambling, the concern doesn’t lessen, it gets worse.”
Cito Gaston, the Blue Jays supervisor for their only two World Series titles, in 1992 and 1993, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joe Carter, whose walk-off three-run homer ended the 1993 World Series, will throw out the first pitch before Game 2.
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