Time and time again this post-season, the Toronto Blue Jays have battled through adversity and shown the baseball world at large that their season-long resilience was no fluke.
The Blue Jays battled back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the ALCS to force a Game 7 against the Mariners, George Springer’s go-ahead three-run homer stunning Seattle in the seventh after trailing 3-1.
But coming off an 18-inning heartbreaker to fall behind 2-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, Toronto’s trademark grit was in for its biggest test yet. It’s a loss that would have had many clubs down and out — especially with Shohei Ohtani set to take the mound less than 24 hours after delivering an all-time performance at the plate in the marathon Game 3.
Lo and behold, the Blue Jays scraped themselves off the mat in Game 4 and delivered on Tuesday perhaps their most impressive bounce-back win of the season.
Shane Bieber held the Dodgers in check, going toe-to-toe with Ohtani — both on the mound and when facing him at the plate — striking out the three-time MVP twice to bring the superstar back to earth. The offence stepped up with an inning that epitomized the 2025 Blue Jays, chasing Ohtani before piling on four insurance runs in the seventh, adding on to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s two-run shot earlier in the contest to secure a 6-2 win.
With Toronto levelling the Fall Classic at 2-2, an ever-important Game 5 looms on Wednesday night (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT). But before Trey Yesavage and Blake Snell renew acquaintances, here’s a look at how some MLB analysts reacted to the Blue Jays’ Game 4 triumph.
New York Post: Blue Jays’ refusal to relent after gut-punch loss is telling World Series statement
Not only did the Blue Jays lose Game 3 after 18 innings, but they lost their star leadoff hitter, Springer, as well.
Despite Springer’s best efforts to return to Toronto’s lineup for Game 4, he wasn’t able to get right in time for first pitch, forcing the Blue Jays to pivot and adjust their lineup.
Toronto’s ability to shake it all off and win the game anyway left an impression on the New York Post‘s Joel Sherman.
“These Blue Jays are tough, able to do what the 2024 Yankees could not: Win a game at Dodger Stadium. That they did so the day after as devastating a loss as can be experienced spoke loudly and well of the resolve of the AL champions ….
“Baseball is a serial sport, played daily, thus players become experts at leaving yesterday at yesterday. But this was not just any yesterday. Kevin Gausman, scheduled to start Wednesday for Toronto, called it ‘a crazy game.’ It was a seeming pivot in which both sides exhausted nearly all supplies and energy.”
Sherman gave a lot of credit to Bieber, who worked 5.1 innings of one-run ball in the victory, for giving Toronto a chance to win with Ohtani on the opposing mound.
Bieber has now stepped up in two of Toronto’s biggest games of the season. The 30-year-old pitched in a similar spot against Seattle in the ALCS, delivering six innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts in Game 3 as the Blue Jays avoided falling behind 3-0.
Fox Sports MLB: Derek Jeter gives Bo Bichette credit
In Springer’s absence, the Blue Jays slid Bo Bichette into the designated hitter role and into the three-hole in their lineup.
While Bichette continues to be visibly hampered by the knee injury that kept him off Toronto’s roster in the ALDS and ALCS, he has only continued to hit since returning to the fold for the World Series.
On the Fox Sports post-game panel, Derek Jeter said he thought the 28-year-old seems to be finding his footing as the series wears on.
“You can’t replace George Springer. He’s instant offence as soon as he steps in the box, from the first pitch of the game. But if he’s out, and you need to replace him with someone, Bichette is a good replacement.
“He was one of the best hitters in the American League all season — one of the Blue Jays’ best hitters, especially with runners in scoring position. It seems like he’s getting more and more comfortable. He’s having better at-bats. We saw the (single) he hit there his last at-bat.
“Toronto, they’re in a good spot, man. They’re in a good spot. They are confident, and they know, regardless of what happens to them, they can still bounce back. They believe that, even if no one else does.”
In 11 at-bats this World Series, Bichette is batting .364 with an .826 OPS and two RBIs. As Jeter said, his best swing came in the seventh inning on Tuesday, when he lined a sweeper 109.6 m.p.h. over Kiké Hernández’s head in left to grow the Blue Jays’ lead.
The Athletic: Blue Jays’ bats make Shohei Ohtani seem briefly mortal in series-tying Game 4 win
After a two-double, two-homer and five-walk Game 3, Tuesday night was setting up to be a stage for Ohtani to stamp his two-way dominance as he took the ball for his first Fall Classic start.
The six-foot-three right-hander had looked unhittable in this post-season, striking out 19 over 12 innings while allowing just five knocks in his two pitching appearances in October.
And while he threw well over six innings, a seventh might have just been too much to ask for against this Blue Jays offence, which, as The Athletic‘s Andy McCullough wrote, made Ohtani look mortal when it chased him from the game.
“The moments when Shohei Ohtani elicits the most shock are the ones in which he appears human …
“Ohtani experienced one of those moments Tuesday. He cast his eyes toward the dugout and then toward the ground as he saw Dodgers manager Dave Roberts approach. Ohtani relinquished control of the baseball, and control of the game, to his manager. He yanked off his glove and muttered to himself. For those brief moments, he looked exactly like what he was at Dodger Stadium: a great player bested by a team capable of matching his individual greatness.”
Tuesday was a far cry from Ohtani’s best performances — on either side of the ball — as he finished the night 0-for-3 with a walk at the plate and four runs on his pitching line after Los Angeles’ bullpen permitted two of his runners to score in the seventh.
While easier said than done, Toronto will look to find a way to similarly limit Ohtani going forward.
