By now, we all know what happened. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games – and won two straight on the road to do so, mind you – and are celebrating their second-straight World Series title on Monday afternoon. The Dodgers World Series parade brings with it more pain for Blue Jays fans who ought to steer clear of social media for the next few hours. The Dodgers are unapologetically bashful, and have the look of a team which has won two straight titles in search of a third. There are few obstacles in their way to reaching that goal in 2026.
For a brief second there, it looked as though the Blue Jays, rather than the Dodgers, would be celebrating early this week. Toronto had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. Daulton Varsho was at the plate, while Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a pinch-runner, stood at third base. IKF didn't take much of a secondary lead to protect against a possible double play, and as a result was thrown out at home plate on a Varsho hard ground ball to Miguel Rojas, who had tied the game the previous half inning.
IKF's small lead and a lack of a secondary was the difference for Toronto not winning a title. pic.twitter.com/LobrbNSCJa
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 2, 2025
Kiner-Falefa has taken plenty of flack from baseball pundits like myself and Blue Jays fans since then. The rule of thumb, typically, is to take a secondary lead which matches the number of steps away the third baseman is. Muncy was over slightly and on the grass, so it would've been tough for the Dodgers to pick off the fast Kiner-Falefa at third. IKF also had plenty of time to get back to the bag had Varsho hit a line drive out thanks to Muncy's positioning.
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Former Dodgers star comes to Isiah Kiner-Falefa's defense
That being said, I am not a former player. It takes one to know one, and former Dodgers star Justin Turner, who was a fan favorite during his time in Los Angeles, explained Kiner-Falefa's dilemma to baseball fans everywhere in a long thread on X.
"The assumption is, with a force play at home, most likely if an infielder catches the ball, the runner will be out at home. Therefore, you shorten up and don’t increase the risk of being doubled up on a line drive," Turner wrote. "This gives another hitter a chance to come thru with the bases loaded and 2 outs. A line drive double play in that situation is 1000 times more of a momentum swing than a ground ball to the second baseman that results in a force out for the 2nd out of the inning."
As Turner made sure to mention, Kiner-Falefa played his secondary lead by the book. He did not want to be the decisive out at third base if Varsho hit a line drive to the infield which was caught. An extra step or two would've helped him score, yes, but that's far easier to say with hindsight.
Does Isiah Kiner-Falefa deserve the criticism he's receiving?
As much as I appreciate Turner's take on this matter, the Blue Jays and Kiner-Falefa surely deserve at least a little bit of blame for how this all unfolded. IKF also slid into home plate, which did little to help his case. Had he gotten a running start on Varsho's ground ball and stayed upright, there's a chance he would've been safe at home thanks to Will Smith's cleat, which briefly came off the bag. Kiner-Falefa's slide actually helped the Dodgers case and slowed him down.
As Turner pointed out, players are preconditioned to slide at home plate. However, unlike sliding into the bag at first, second or third, they don't gain nearly as much time by doing so into home. Turner is right that IKF is far from alone in sliding into home plate, but that doesn't mean it's not a mistake.
It was the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series. Every moment is magnified, and it should be no surprise a Blue Jays base-runner – one they put in the game for the sole reason of running the bases as a pinch-runner – caught some flack for failing to do so effectively.