World Series Game Four: Nine is Enough
The Toronto Blue Jays bounce back from the 18-inning loss and manage to draw dead even with the defending champs
The baseball world is still buzzing over that 18-inning masterpiece that ended at 10 minutes until midnight in the Pacific Time Zone. It was a stunning affair that saw nearly 20 pitchers used, over 600 pitches thrown, and so many close calls prior to that Freddie Freeman walk-off. Many fans wondered what these two teams would do for an encore, but games like that are very rare.
Just over 17 hours after Game Three ended, Game Four took place at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers entered this game in the driver's seat, two wins away from repeating as champions. The Jays needed something, but the fear was that both teams were gassed after that marathon game. Shohei Ohtani, who was on base nine times in that wild game, was on the mound for the Dodgers against Shane Bieber, who came very close to actually entering Game Three. It was scoreless after the first inning, and then Enrique Hernandez's sac fly in the 2nd inning opens the scoring. Dodgers have now scored first in all four games, but the Jays would strike back big time.
The 3rd inning saw Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. give the Jays the lead with a two-run homer, because someone had to do it. The score held up thaks to Bieber's masterful pitching, and the seventh inning would see the Jays fully take over. Four runs in the frame, resulting in a 6-1 lead. Yeah, we wouldn't need 18 innings this time.
The Toronto Blue Jays won Game Four of the World Series, 6-2, and we really have a series now. Toronto responded well after the 18-inning marathon; they bounced back, got the win, got the runs they needed, and now it's a whole new series. Shohei Ohtani was defeated, not very easily, but he was defeated. Dating back to Game Three, the Dodgers have only scored just three runs in their last 20 innings of play. That's not good. What is good is this series. This World Series has been absolutely amazing and thrilling as hell, and it's not just because of Game Three. We've seen a dominant Jays win in Game One, Yamamoto had a comelte game gem in Game Two, and of course, nothing more needs to be said about Game Three. The Blue Jays bounced back from that thriller to do their job--nab one of the three road games. As a result, we have an even Series after four games.
The biggest series of the baseball season is now down to a best-of-three situation, and Toronto's win in Game Four guarantees that the Series will cross the northern border one last time. A 2-2 series score in a best-of-seven makes Game Five very important. In a best-of-seven World Series, when it's 2-2, the Game Five winner wins the Series 31 out of 46 times, which is about two-thirds of the time. And unlike best-of-seven series in the NBA and NHL, which operate under the 2-2-1-1-1 format that allows Game Five to head back to the site of the team with home field advantage, MLB's best-of-seven series operate under the 2-3-2 format.
Because of this, Game Five is Wednesday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers will have one final game at home, and it's a pivotal one. If the Dodgers win, they will only have to win just once on the road to repeat. If the Blue Jays win, they'll have--at most--two chances to win their third championship at home.
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About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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