Jeff Hoffman made it clear he blamed himself for the Toronto Blue Jays falling short in the World Series after the closer allowed a game-tying homer to Miguel Rojas with one out in the top of the ninth in Game 7 on Saturday night.
After Rojas’ homer off Hoffman, the game went into extra innings, with the Los Angeles Dodgers pulling it out in 11 innings for the title.
Asked how he felt following the defeat, Hoffman said, “I cost everybody in here a World Series ring, so it’s pretty s–tty.”
Hoffman replaced phenom Trey Yesavage with two outs in the top of the eighth, looking to get a four-out save.
But Rojas took him deep in the ninth and Will Smith ended up hitting a go-ahead homer off Shane Bieber in the top of the 11th to propel the Dodgers to a second straight championship.
“I’ve just got to execute better in that spot and not let that happen,’’ Hoffman said of the Rojas blast, which came on a 3-2 slider.
It was just the second homer allowed by Hoffman in 21 postseason appearances.
After he struggled with the Phillies in last year’s NLDS against the Mets last season, Hoffman entered Saturday having allowed just one run and nine baserunners over 11 innings- while striking out 16.
He had a four-out save to close out the Yankees in the ALDS earlier in the playoffs, although he gave up a run in the series-clinching win by Toronto in Game 5 in The Bronx.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays looked to be in good shape in their effort to knock off the Dodgers and win their first title since 1993 when Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in the top of the third, but Los Angeles got back in the game.
