The World Series is now a best-of-three.
With their win in Game 4, the Toronto Blue Jays have regained home-field advantage in the Fall Classic. The Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers will play Game 5 in L.A. on Wednesday night before the series shifts back to Toronto on Friday.
How we got here
Full marks to the Blue Jays for bouncing back in Game 4 following a devastating, 18-inning defeat in Game 3. Toronto, nothing if not resilient all through the regular season and playoffs, dug deep once again to post the 6-2 series-evening victory on Tuesday.
Starter Shane Bieber was strong for the Jays in Game 4, pitching into the sixth inning and surrendering just four hits and one earned run. Meanwhile, on the other side of the bump, Toronto was able to get to Shohei Ohtani for four runs in six innings. The signature blow came in the top of the third, when Toronto’s megastar, slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., got the best of L.A.’s stud by smacking a two-run homer that gave Toronto a 2-1 lead it never relinquished. The big fly was the seventh of the post-season for Guerrero Jr., establishing a new franchise playoff record.
Toronto managed to get the win despite October hero George Springer being forced out of the lineup with an injury.
What’s at stake
The longer this series goes, the higher and clearer the stakes become. Whoever wins Game 5 will creep to within a single victory of the World Series. In Toronto’s case, a win would give the Jays two shots to close out the series at the Rogers Centre.
For the defending champs, the idea of coming back to Canada needing two victories to win the series must be very unappealing. L.A. will be desperate to get a leg up on the Jays in its final contest of the year at Dodger Stadium.
Starting pitching matchup: Trey Yesavage vs. Blake Snell
We’re back to the top of the order, as the Game 1 starters get the ball again.
On balance, the Jays could not have asked for more out of Yesavage this fall. The 22-year-old rookie has made four starts and posted a 2-1 record while striking out 27 batters in 19 innings. That’s incredible stuff from a kid who had all of three career starts on his resume heading into the playoffs. That said, Game 1 of the World Series was the only outing Yesavage has had in the second season where he didn’t make it past the fourth inning. He’ll need that deadly splitter to be on point against this Dodgers lineup that will be getting its second look at his stuff in six days.
Snell, meanwhile, also had his shortest outing of October in Game 1 versus the Jays. Toronto was able to chase the lefty by loading the bases with nobody out in the sixth inning, then blew the contest open versus the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Bullpen report
Obviously, Tuesday night’s double game skewed things for bullpens on both sides of the diamond. Toronto, though, was able to skate through the Game 4 win without having to turn to Jeff Hoffman or Seranthony Dominguez. With Yesavage potentially on a short leash on Wednesday, it’s almost a lock that both Hoffman and Dominguez will appear at some point in the ballgame.
As for the Dodgers, they only used three relievers in Game 4, so most of the arms that threw in the Game 3 marathon got at least a small reprieve.
Key lineup decision: Springer, yay or nay?
Toronto manager John Schneider said Springer was “hour-to-hour” in the lead-up to Game 4 before he was eventually forced to scratch him. So how does his “right-side discomfort” feel 24 hours later?
Getting Springer’s right-handed bat back in the order against the lefty Snell would be great, but Toronto doesn’t want to force things.
Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling mused that if Springer is not able to go, perhaps the Jays could move Bo Bichette to the top of the order as the DH. It’s also very likely we’ll see Davis Schnieder — who got the Game 1 tap versus Snell — back in the lineup with the southpaw on the mound again.
Storyline to watch
Much was made of the Los Angeles starting rotation coming into the World Series, and rightfully so. L.A. swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS largely on the back of outstanding starts by Snell, Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Through four games of the World Series, though, the Jays have only been overwhelmed by Yamamoto in Game 2. In the three other contests, Toronto has gotten the better of L.A.’s starter.
Now the Jays are seeing Snell for a second time. Can their offence grind him out of the game again, or will the 2023 National League Cy Young winner find his best form in a huge spot?
