After an extremely entertaining 18-inning Dodgers win in Game 3, a strong response by the Blue Jays in Game 4 takes this World Series matchup to a crucial Game 5 in LA.
Game 3 was one that will go down in baseball history. If you watched this game it showed you all the best that baseball has to offer: amazing defense, star power, timely hitting, and gutsy performances from both bullpens to extend the game to 18 innings. Finally, Freddie Freeman sent Dodgers fans home happy, knocking a walk-off solo homerun over the centerfield wall with his second walk-off World Series homer in two years.
Will Klein, a semi-unknown reliever came in and pitched four gritty scoreless innings in relief and held it down to provide the Dodgers the opportunity to walk it off several times. Shohei Ohtani reached base nine (yes, nine) times, with 4 hits, 2 homers and 5 walks during this seemingly never-ending game. Dave Roberts told analysts/color commentators on the air that if the game went any longer, that he'd use a position player on the mound, which would have been entertaining, but I think we're all glad that it didn't come to that.
Toronto unfortunately lost ALCS hero and star George Springer, who left in the seventh inning after injuring his shoulder on a swing. With the bullpens run down and each of the teams getting little sleep after the Game 3 marathon, Game 4 necessitated a huge response for the Blue Jays to stay alive in this series, and that is exactly what they provided. Vladimir Guerrero Jr came up huge with a two-run homer off of Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, providing a lead that the Blue Jays never surrendered en route to a 6-1 victory. Guerrero has been simply phenomenal, setting Toronto postseason records with seven homers and 14 RBI this month.
The Blue Jays reclaimed home field advantage taking one in LA, with the opportunity to complete a strangle-hold with a win in Game 5. Shane Bieber was absolutely resilient on the mound going 5 and a third vs this star-powered lineup, which was more than desirable for Toronto.
With the series even, we cannot wait to see who comes out on top!