After the second-longest World Series game in history on Monday night, October 27, the next game was quite ordinary by comparison.
Following an epic 18-inning contest in Game 3, the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 6-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday.
Starter Shane Bieber pitched 5⅓ solid innings of one-run ball and slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run over the left-field fence off Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani in the third inning.
The Blue Jays evened the best–of-seven series at 2-2 at Dodger Stadium. Game 5 is on Wednesday night in LA.
Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, said after the game that he was pleased with his team's energy and resilience.
"Coming off what could be a back-breaking loss last night, it was an absolute pleasure to show up today and see nobody changes," Bieber said, according to The Associated Press. "Nobody ever wavers, nobody ever hesitates. It's the same group of guys each and every day."
Ohtani's 1st Pitching Appearance in the World Series
In Game 4, reigning National League MVP Ohtani held Toronto to four runs on six hits over six-plus innings. He struck out six and walked one in his first-ever World Series start.
How did Ohtani sum up the experience?
"Although we did lose the game," Ohtani said, according to ESPN.com, "I thought I had a productive experience being able to experience this situation."
It was Ohtani's first mound appearance since October 17. An unforgettable performance in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. On that day, he slugged three homers and pitched six-plus innings of two-hit, shutout ball with 10 strikeouts.
Against Toronto, two-thirds of the way through the game, Ohtani was pitching a stellar game. He completed a 1-2-3 sixth and got the third out by striking out Alejandro Kirk with a sweeper. He had thrown 90 pitches through six frames.
At that point, LA trailed 2-1. (And the Dodgers would finish with only six hits, including five singles.)
Blue Jays Pounce on Dodgers Relievers
Things began to unravel for the Dodgers in the seventh.
The first two Blue Jays batters, Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement, reached base on a single and a double, respectively. Ohtani had now thrown 93 pitches, and it appeared that the fan favorite was starting to show signs of fatigue on the mound
"It was regrettable that I wasn't able to finish that inning," Ohtani said through an interpreter, according to The Associated Press.
With no outs and runners on second and third, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to bring in veteran reliever Anthony Banda to pitch to Andres Gimenez. It was lefty vs lefty for this pivotal at-bat.
Gimenez capitalized on the opportunity, hitting a single to left to make it 3-1. Two batters later, on a groundout, the Blue Jays extended their advantage to 4-1.
Following an intentional walk to Guerrero, Bo Bichette whacked a hard-hit single off the left-field wall off Blake Treinen to drive in a run. Addison Barger, the hero of Game 1 with a pinch-hit grand slam, followed with a single past diving shortstop Mookie Betts to increase the lead to 6-1.
Dodgers Add a Final Run in the 9th
Facing reliever Louis Varland, the Dodgers scored the game's final run in the ninth on a Tommy Edman groundout. Teoscar Hernandez had reached base on a walk to open the home half of the ninth. Max Muncy then hit a double that curled into the right-field corner.
After Toronto's lead was cut to 6-2, Kike Hernandez fanned on a knuckle curve.
With the Dodgers down to their final out, Alex Call stepped into the batter's box. Ohtani, who was 4-for-4 with five walks (four times he was intentionally walked) in the previous game, was the on-deck hitter.
In a postseason in which he's thrived again and again, would Ohtani have a chance for another big moment? Would he deliver something special in the ninth?
That opportunity, however, didn't arrive. Call lined out to Blue Jays left fielder Myles Straw to end the game, which lasted 2 hours and 54 minutes.
Ohtani went 0-for-3 and struck out twice. He didn't reach base a day after matching an MLB record by reaching base nine times.
Monday's epic contest consumed 6:39, making it the second-longest game in World Series history. Only Game 3 of the 2018 Fall Classic, Boston Red Sox vs the Dodgers, lasted longer (7 hours and 20 minutes).
Reaction to This World Series Game
Roberts said this is shaping up to be an exceptional World Series.
"I think that we knew it was going to be a great series," Roberts told reporters at a postgame news conference. "This team is talented, they're resilient — talking about the Blue Jays — and they came back fighting. Bieber does what he does. ... and we really didn't get a whole lot of good swings. Conversely, you see those guys (the Blue Jays) grinding and using the whole field and putting some hits together. We just didn't have an answer."
What was the view from the broadcast booth about Game 4?
"Shohei Ohtani was brilliant through those six innings," ESPN Radio baseball analyst Eduardo Perez said during the Game 4 broadcast. "It was unfortunate that the [Los Angeles] offense wasn't able to help him out."
Added Perez, "You look at the one mistake that he made, and it was to Vladimir Guerrero with that sweeper that stayed up."
Here's Blue Jays manager John Schneider's reaction to Game 4's pivotal moment, via The Associated Press: "After last night and kind of all the recognition that went into Shohei individually and he's on the mound today, it's a huge swing from Vlad. It's a huge swing to get us going."
RELATED:
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- World Series: Blue Jays Trounce Dodgers in Game 1
- Shohei Ohtani Leads Dodgers to NLCS Sweep with Amazing Game 4 Performance
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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