Late-night events all the time include a value.
And on Tuesday, the Dodgers had been reminded of the day-after value.
Simply 17 hours faraway from their 18-inning marathon in Recreation 3 of the World Collection, each the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays appeared to be enjoying at a slower, extra sluggish tempo on early Tuesday night. Their offenses scuffled. Their starters pitched methodically. Their emotional batteries (and that of a capability crowd at Dodger Stadium, for that matter) appeared to be in low-power mode.
Ultimately, nevertheless, the staff dealing with extra desperation to avoid wasting its season discovered a strategy to lastly conjure life.
With a 6-2 win in Recreation 4 at Chavez Ravine, the Blue Jays threw one other wrench into this back-and-forth Fall Basic combat.
Because of a go-ahead two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then a four-run rally within the seventh in opposition to the Dodgers’ fatigued and defective bullpen, the Blue Jays tied this World Collection 2-2 and ensured a return journey dwelling for Recreation 6 on Friday evening.
In some ways, Monday felt like a possible dying blow for the Blue Jays.
They not solely misplaced the 18-inning traditional, relinquishing management of the sequence when Freddie Freeman ended the evening simply shy of midnight along with his second World Collection walk-off dwelling run in as a few years. However additionally they got here away battered and bruised, shedding star slugger George Springer to an obvious facet damage whereas exhausting a bullpen that, not like the Dodgers’, has been tasked with consuming extra innings this postseason.
On Tuesday, nevertheless, the Blue Jays leaned on the issues they do greatest, knocking the ball across the yard — and sending one momentum-stealing blast crusing out of it — to not solely claw their method again into this sequence, however shift the strain over to the Dodgers’ facet.
The Dodgers do nonetheless have the beginning pitching benefit on this sequence, with Blake Snell set to begin Recreation 5 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for Recreation 6.
However now, one stumble from both of them and the prospect of a possible Recreation 7 — by which Tyler Glasnow would face a raucous Rogers Centre crowd — might loom giant. And given the way in which the Dodgers’ offense has been going, even good beginning pitching doesn’t all the time promise sufficient.
That was the story Tuesday, when Shohei Ohtani took on one more unprecedented job.
On Monday, the soon-to-be four-time MVP was pushed to the boundaries, reaching base a postseason-record 9 instances whereas amassing 4 extra-base hits and even attempting to steal a base.
One quick evening later, he took the mound for his first profession pitching begin within the World Collection. And deliberately or not, he appeared to considerably throttle down.
Toronto star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. celebrates with teammate Nathan Lukes after hitting a two-run dwelling run within the third inning in opposition to the Dodgers in Recreation 4 of the World Collection at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday evening.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions)
The appropriate-hander’s usually triple-digit fastball topped out at solely 99 mph, and sat nearer to 96-97 mph. He blended in additional sweepers than typical, too, attempting to negate the Blue Jays’ potent lineup with a gentle dose of spin.
For essentially the most half, he was efficient, hanging out six batters and retiring 11 of 12 at one level.
However, he made one large early mistake, hanging a third-inning sweeper in a hitter’s rely to Guerrero Jr. that the Blue Jays celebrity — who had collected loads of hits this sequence, however not one of the extra-base selection — clobbered to left for a two-run homer, wiping away the Dodgers’ 1-0 lead.
Then, on the finish of his evening, Ohtani bumped into extra bother within the seventh, exiting the sport after a leadoff single and double within the span of 4 pitches.
That proved to spell catastrophe, opening the door to a four-run rally in opposition to the bullpen.
Anthony Banda entered first however gave up an RBI single in a left-on-left matchup in opposition to Andrés Giménez, then one other run when Ty France — epitomizing the ethos of the Blue Jays’ contact-first lineup — slapped a floor ball to the suitable facet of the infield.
Blake Treinen, in but the newest disappointing entry to his October hunch, made issues worse by yielding RBI singles to Bo Bichette and Addison Barger. Identical to that, the Blue Jays had opened up a five-run cushion.
The Dodgers’ actual downside, after all, has been their inconsistent offense, which completed Recreation 4 with three whole runs in its final 21 innings.
Ohtani couldn’t leap begin the unit this time, going hitless in three at-bats after a leadoff stroll within the first. Mookie Betts stays mired in an prolonged chilly spell, batting simply .147 over his final eight video games. Situational hitting can also be nonetheless a difficulty, with the Dodgers managing simply two runs Tuesday — scoring first on a Kiké Hernández sacrifice fly within the second, however then not once more till a short-lived rally within the ninth — regardless of having runners on base in seven totally different innings. And on the entire this sequence, their staff batting common is simply .214, making life comparatively simple for Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber on Tuesday in a 5 ⅓-inning, one-run begin.
In consequence, the Dodgers have let the Blue Jays again into this sequence. They won’t have an opportunity to clinch a championship on their dwelling turf.
Monday’s 18-inning recreation may need been a traditional. However Tuesday’s loss counted simply the identical.
Now, it’s sequence on. A late-night celebration one evening, adopted by a actuality examine the subsequent.
