The Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a two-run home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday.Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
After his team won Monday’s 18-inning World Series death march, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had the luxury of joking about it. What was his plan if it had kept going?
Roberts smirked a little. He was thinking of going with Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but then again, what about utility infielder Miguel Rojas? Rojas pitches occasionally, and always poorly.
“It was probably going to be Rojas,” said Roberts, to titters in the room.
The World Series. What a laugh.
Over on the other side, Jays manager John Schneider said he had intended on going full Colonel Kurtz. First, Game 4 starter Shane Bieber. Then, Game 5 starter Trey Yesavage. At which point he would have been out of starting pitchers, with a bunch of World Series yet to play.
Blue Jays bounce back with 6-2 win, even World Series with Dodgers
In the bizarro world in which this happened, the Blue Jays could have won Game 3 and lost the war.
Instead, because that didn’t come to pass, they are back in this thing with an actual chance.
On Tuesday, Bieber went heads up with Shohei Ohtani, literally and metaphorically. Rather than flee the best hitter in the game, Bieber played chicken with him. Ohtani was the one who flinched. After one of the greatest World Series games in history, he had an averagely great one, and all of that was from his position on the mound.
When Ohtani’s not performing magic, the rest of his team has trouble remembering where they put their rabbits.
Ohtani made one big pitching mistake, but to the wrong person – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That ended up over the wall.
Max Muncy of the Dodgers hits a double in the ninth inning. The World Series will return to Canada on Friday.Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
The Jays nibbled at baseball’s mega star for six innings. After the sixth, Ohtani left the field rubbing sweat from his brow. Sweat? Ohtani? Maybe no matter how hard he leans in, the modern working baseball player really can’t have it all.
In the next frame, Ernie Clement chased Ohtani from the game. Ernie Clement! Ohtani could bench press two of him, but it doesn’t matter when you’re throwing balls over the middle of the plate. Anybody working at this level can hit those.
From there, it was up to the Dodgers bullpen. Having put in so much overtime the night before, they decided to take time in lieu. That’s how a 2-1 pitchers’ duel turned into a 6-1 advantage in the space of 15 minutes. In the midst of all that, Guerrero was the one being intentionally walked. Toronto went on to win 6-2.
This is how the Jays discovered the secret to beating the Dodgers. You must become the Dodgers.
The bleary-eyed behind-the-scenes of Sportsnet's 18-inning World Series broadcast
You need your starter to go deep, and contain L.A.’s best players until they lose heart. On offence, you take small chunks off the thoroughbreds in the rotation until you can get to the nags in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
But more than that, being a Dodger is a state of mind. All of this is a lark. You’re young and famous and things could not be going better. Is that Prince Harry over there? And Brad Pitt? Watching me? Of course, we’re going to win. It’s Hollywood.
But when you get a really close look at them, the Dodgers aren’t all that great. The one through three hitters? Sure. Top class. Four through six? Well, not terrible. Seven through nine? It’s like they ran out of money and had to start hiring the most muscular looking people who work concessions.
The starters are the absolute elite, except when they’re not. So far in this World Series, the Dodgers have received only one MVP type pitching performance, from Yamamoto. Everyone else has been OK.
It seems hard to beat the Dodgers because the Dodgers keep telling people that. But it isn’t, especially not when Ohtani’s having a tough day at work.
It does no good to imagine what would have happened if Bo Bichette hadn’t been picked off on Monday night, or if Davis Schneider had a little bit more of a jump on home plate, or if any one of them had decided to take advantage of Will Klein, the four-inning bullpen hero who hadn’t pitched more than two major league innings. Ever.
It does no good, but it’s irresistible. The Jays could have a hammerlock on this series now.
Or they could still be tied at 2-2, having done it in a different order, but out of pitchers and dead in the water.
Though it’s not the way anyone would have planned it, I’m sure they’ll take the option they’ve stumbled into. Be gut-punched one night, and then pop up swinging the next.
One thing they will be able to take back from L.A. – a renewed appreciation for their hometown fans. Nobody in baseball supports their team like the Dodgers faithful. I get it – they paid 80 bucks for parking. They want to get their money’s worth.
Along with Klein, the crowd pushed L.A. over the edge in Game 3. When it was all but over in Game 4, they were still on their feet in the cheap seats, waiting for the five-run comeback.
I hope Toronto’s been paying attention. This is what the big-time looks like. It’s not the famous shmucks in the stands. It’s the season ticket holders in Section 55, a hundred miles from home plate. That’s the ‘base’ in fanbase.
The World Series will return to Canada on Friday. The Jays could be on the cusp of winning it, or losing it. But they will still be in with a shot.
When you think back on a great sporting memory, this is the instant that matters. Not when it was won, but when it was possible, and you could see every version of events unfolding in the future.
The Jays are in that now. This is about to be the biggest disappointment in their history, or the greatest of all their victories.