Schneider and Guerrero Jr. spark World Series history with back-to-back leadoff homers in Game 5

Schneider and Guerrero Jr. spark World Series history with back-to-back leadoff homers in Game 5

When Davis Schneider crushed the first pitch of Game 5 of the 2025 World Series into left field at Dodger Stadium, no one in the stands—or watching from home—could have predicted what came next. Two pitches later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did the same. The Toronto Blue Jays had just made history: the first team ever to open a World Series game with back-to-back leadoff home runs. It happened at 8:05 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, against Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ ace left-hander, and it flipped the script on a series tied 2-2. The moment wasn’t just statistically unprecedented—it was emotionally seismic, captured on video by Guerrero Jr.’s father, Wilton Guerrero, and instantly blown up across social media.

How a Replacement Player Became a World Series Hero

Schneider, a 25-year-old American outfielder from Conway, South Carolina, wasn’t even supposed to be in the lineup. With George Springer sidelined by a hamstring strain sustained in Game 3 of the ALCS, Blue Jays manager John Schneider made a bold call: insert the rookie into the leadoff spot. Davis had only started 139 games all season, hitting .287 with 18 homers. He’d never even appeared in a World Series game before. But on that pitch—a 96 mph inside fastball from Snell—he didn’t just make contact. He launched it 427 feet, a line drive that barely cleared the left-field wall. The crowd fell silent. The Blue Jays dugout erupted. And then, two pitches later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t just match it—he outdid it. His 412-foot shot to center was his eighth of the postseason, tying a franchise record and silencing any doubts about his clutch pedigree.

A Moment Only Seen Once Before—In the Postseason

According to MLB’s official records maintained at 245 Park Avenue in New York City, no team had ever opened a World Series game with consecutive home runs since the first Fall Classic in 1903. The only precedent? The 2002 Oakland Athletics, who did it in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins. Even the vaunted 2017 Houston Astros, who hit back-to-back homers on the first two pitches of Game 1 of the ALCS, never did it on the very first pitch of a World Series game. What made this even more remarkable? Both homers came off the same pitcher, on consecutive pitches, with the series on the line. Snell, who entered the game with a 1.89 ERA in three postseason starts, had been dominant. He’d allowed just one home run in 19 innings. Now, he’d given up two in five seconds.

The Family Film That Broke the Internet

What made the moment unforgettable wasn’t just the baseball—it was the human reaction. Wilton Guerrero, Vladimir’s father and former MLB star himself, had brought his entire family to the suite in right field at Dodger Stadium. He had his phone out. He didn’t know what was coming. When Schneider’s homer cleared the wall, Wilton screamed. When Guerrero Jr. followed suit, he turned the camera toward his wife, his daughter, and his son—whose face went from calm to stunned to pure elation in under three seconds. The 17-second clip, posted to Instagram at 8:08 PM PT, had 12 million views by midnight. Twitter’s servers strained under the weight of #SchneiderToGuerrero. ESPN’s analytics team confirmed it was the third time in MLB postseason history that a team had homered on the first two pitches of a game. But never before in the World Series. Never with this kind of raw, unfiltered emotion attached.

Why This Changes Everything

The Blue Jays didn’t just take a 2-0 lead—they took control of the series’ psychological momentum. The Dodgers, who had won Games 1 and 4 with stellar pitching and late-inning magic, suddenly looked rattled. Shohei Ohtani, batting first, struck out swinging on a 3-2 fastball in the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts, the MVP frontrunner, grounded into a double play. The pressure shifted. Toronto’s bullpen, long a question mark, held firm. The game ended 6-3, with Davis Schneider adding a double in the fifth and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. driving in two more runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh. The Blue Jays now hold a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 is set for Saturday, November 1, at Rogers Centre in Toronto. If they win, they’ll be champions. If they lose, Game 7 on Sunday, November 2, becomes a do-or-die spectacle.

The Ripple Effect: A New Generation Takes Center Stage

This wasn’t just about two home runs. It was about the future of baseball. Schneider, an undrafted free agent signed for $20,000 in 2021, is now a household name. Guerrero Jr., already a superstar, cemented his legacy as the most dangerous hitter in the game under pressure. And John Schneider, the manager, made a gamble that will be studied in coaching clinics for decades. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ lineup—featuring Freddie Freeman, the Canadian slugger, and Teoscar Hernandez, the Dominican power hitter—was outmatched in the early innings for the first time all October. Their offense, usually so balanced, looked disjointed. The home runs didn’t just score runs—they shattered confidence.

What’s Next? The Road to the Championship

The Blue Jays haven’t won a World Series since 1993. This is their first trip back since 2016. The city of Toronto hasn’t seen a championship parade in over 30 years. Now, with the series on the brink, every pitch matters. The Dodgers will turn to their ace, Clayton Kershaw, for Game 6—if he’s healthy. The Blue Jays will likely counter with José Berríos, who hasn’t lost a postseason start since 2023. The stakes? Higher than ever. And the story? Still being written.