Late-night parties always come with a price.
And on Tuesday, the Dodgers were reminded of the day-after cost.
Just 17 hours removed from their 18-inning marathon in Game 3 of the World Series, both the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays seemed to be playing at a slower, more sluggish pace on early Tuesday evening. Their offenses scuffled. Their starters pitched methodically. Their emotional batteries (and that of a capacity crowd at Dodger Stadium, for that matter) seemed to be in low-power mode.
Eventually, however, the team facing more desperation to save its season found a way to finally conjure life.
With a 6-2 win in Game 4 at Chavez Ravine, the Blue Jays threw another wrench into this back-and-forth Fall Classic fight.
Thanks to a go-ahead two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then a four-run rally in the seventh against the Dodgers’ fatigued and faulty bullpen, the Blue Jays tied this World Series 2-2 and ensured a return trip home for Game 6 on Friday night.
In many ways, Monday felt like a potential death blow for the Blue Jays.
They not only lost the 18-inning classic, relinquishing control of the series when Freddie Freeman ended the night just shy of midnight with his second World Series walk-off home run in as many years. But they also came away battered and bruised, losing star slugger George Springer to an apparent side injury while exhausting a bullpen that, unlike the Dodgers’, has been tasked with eating more innings this postseason.
On Tuesday, however, the Blue Jays leaned on the things they do best, knocking the ball around the yard — and sending one momentum-stealing blast sailing out of it — to not only claw their way back into this series, but shift the pressure over to the Dodgers’ side.
The Dodgers do still have the starting pitching advantage in this series, with Blake Snell set to start Game 5 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for Game 6.
But now, one stumble from either of them and the prospect of a potential Game 7 — in which Tyler Glasnow would face a raucous Rogers Centre crowd — could loom large. And given the way the Dodgers’ offense has been going, even good starting pitching doesn’t always promise enough.
That was the story Tuesday, when Shohei Ohtani took on yet another unprecedented task.
On Monday, the soon-to-be four-time MVP was pushed to the limits, reaching base a postseason-record nine times while collecting four extra-base hits and even trying to steal a base.
One short night later, he took the mound for his first career pitching start in the World Series. And intentionally or not, he appeared to somewhat throttle down.
The right-hander’s normally triple-digit fastball topped out at only 99 mph, and sat closer to 96-97 mph. He mixed in more sweepers than usual, too, trying to negate the Blue Jays’ potent lineup with a steady dose of spin.
For the most part, he was effective, striking out six batters and retiring 11 of 12 at one point.
But, he made one big early mistake, hanging a third-inning sweeper in a hitter’s count to Guerrero Jr. that the Blue Jays superstar — who had collected plenty of hits this series, but none of the extra-base variety — clobbered to left for a two-run homer, wiping away the Dodgers’ 1-0 lead.
Then, at the end of his night, Ohtani ran into more trouble in the seventh, exiting the game after a leadoff single and double in the span of four pitches.
That proved to spell disaster, opening the door to a four-run rally against the bullpen.
Anthony Banda entered first but gave up an RBI single in a left-on-left matchup against Andrés Giménez, then another run when Ty France — epitomizing the ethos of the Blue Jays’ contact-first lineup — slapped a ground ball to the right side of the infield.
Blake Treinen, in yet the latest disappointing entry to his October slump, made matters worse by yielding RBI singles to Bo Bichette and Addison Barger. Just like that, the Blue Jays had opened up a five-run cushion.
The Dodgers’ real problem, of course, has been their inconsistent offense, which finished Game 4 with three total runs in its last 21 innings.
Ohtani couldn’t jump start the unit this time, going hitless in three at-bats after a leadoff walk in the first. Mookie Betts remains mired in an extended cold spell, batting just .147 over his last eight games. Situational hitting is also still an issue, with the Dodgers managing just two runs Tuesday — scoring first on a Kiké Hernández sacrifice fly in the second, but then not again until a short-lived rally in the ninth — despite having runners on base in seven different innings. And on the whole this series, their team batting average is just .214, making life relatively easy for Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber on Tuesday in a 5 ⅓-inning, one-run start.
As a result, the Dodgers have let the Blue Jays back into this series. They will not have a chance to clinch a championship on their home turf.
Monday’s 18-inning game might have been a classic. But Tuesday’s loss counted just the same.
Now, it’s series on. A late-night party one night, followed by a reality check the next.
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