It was always going to be tough for anything to top Monday night (and into Tuesday morning) in Game 3 of the World Series. The 18-inning back-and-forth battle that ended with Freddie Freeman’s walk-off
home run will go down as one of the more memorable games in World Series history, no matter how things play out from here.
Game 4 on Tuesday will probably not be as remembered. While the result could lead to a momentum swing in the series, there was only one lead change, and the winning team had a fairly comfortable last couple innings.
World Series Game 4
Toronto Blue Jays 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
(Series tied 2-2)
The Blue Jays shook off the 18-inning defeat, as Vladmir Guerrero Jr. and their offense handled the pitching of Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers’ bullpen, beating them 6-1 to even the series and guarantee that there will be at least one more game in Toronto.
The Dodgers struck first, picking up a run in the second inning. LA had runners on the corners thanks to a Max Muncy walk and a Tommy Edman single when Enrique Hernández stepped to the plate. Hernández got a fly ball deep enough into right field for Muncy to tag up and score the game’s first run. As it turned out, that would be the best it got all night long for the Dodgers at the plate.
LA’s lead did not last long. In the top of the third, Guerrero continued his impressive October and answered back. With Nathan Lukes on following a walk off Ohtani, Guerrero crushed a home run to left-center field, putting Toronto in front.
The Dodgers left a pair of runners on in the sixth, failing to tie or take lead. They ended up ruing that, as Toronto then broke the game open in the seventh. While Ohtani had been pretty solid other than the home run, he allowed two hits to start the seventh before Dave Roberts finally pulled him. His bullpen didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Anthony Banda came in and allowed a single to Andrés Giménez to plate one run. The Dodgers seemingly then got a bit of fortune when Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined into a double play, but on review, Giménez was ruled to have gotten back to first in time. That meant there was just one out, which allowed a run to score when Ty France then hit a grounder with only one play to make. LA then opted to intentionally walk Guerrero and bring in Blake Treinen, but that backfired, as singles from Bo Bichette and Addison Barger added on to the Jays’ lead.
In the eighth, the Dodgers showed some signs of life when Mookie Betts recorded a lead-off single, but that led to nothing and ended with a Will Smith inning-ending double play. The ninth had an even bigger chance for them to get something going when Teoscar Hernández walked and Muncy doubled. They then did get a run back via a Tommy Edman ground out, but that was as close to a rally as they got.
With the series now tied, we’re set for a very crucial battle in Game 5. The pitching duel will be a rematch of Game 1, with Blake Snell going for Los Angeles and Trey Yesavage for Toronto.
