In Game 5 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, Blake Snell took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers aiming to seize a commanding 3-2 lead against the Toronto Blue Jays. What unfolded instead was some early turmoil for Snell.

On his very first pitch, Snell grooved a fastball to Davis Schneider, who launched it into the left-field seats for a leadoff home run. Before Snell could regroup, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fouled off a first-pitch fastball but crushed the second one, sending a towering shot to nearly the same spot, putting Toronto up 2-0 on just three pitches thrown.

It marked the first instance of back-to-back leadoff homers to open a World Series contest, and for Guerrero, his eighth postseason blast overall. Snell wiped down the rubber and stared into the infield, but the damag

See Full Page