Hangover 4.
Have they made this movie yet? No? Well, they just did at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, with headaches, nausea and a shaky sense of impending doom.
Less than a day after a grueling six and a half hours victory in the 18th inning over Toronto Blue Jays, Dodgers curled up in the corner with a cold rag while Jace smothered them with it.
After four games of this World Series, the underdogs from the north are fresh, feisty and very much alive after being tied at two games each. victory with a score of 6-2 in the syllable of Game 4.
Of course, both teams came into the game exhausted after the Dodgers won 6-5 in the longest game in World Series history on Monday night.
But while the Blue Jays literally fought back, the Dodgers moved on. psssst.
While the Blue Jays got strong starting pitching from Shane Bieber and strong relief from a depleted bullpen, the Dodgers got off to a disappointing start due to fatigue. Shohei Ohtani and another bullpen collapse.
The Blue Jays' offense was aggressive. The Dodgers offense could barely keep the bat on its shoulders.
Before the game, Jays manager John Schneider correctly predicted that his team was far from done, saying, “It's the World Series. Everybody's feeling good. They like these situations. We responded well in these situations. From a second wind standpoint, no, man. Just wake up, get ready to do it again.”
It was a powerful statement, and the Dodgers had no answer.
Their lack of response was epitomized by the saddest ninth-inning play in recent memory: Teoscar Hernandez leads off with a walk, Max Muncy hits a double, and no one else can get the ball out of the infield until there are two outs—and Alex Call flies out to left to end the game.
While the series is very interesting, Tuesday's loss makes one thing very clear. If the Dodgers do become baseball's first back-to-back champions in 25 years, they'll have to celebrate in Toronto. After Game 5 on Wednesday, the series moves on to Games 6 and 7 if necessary.
For the 62nd straight season, the Dodgers will not be able to share the championship party in front of their home fans.
But first things first. Starting with the recently reeling Blake Snell on Wednesday and continuing with Yoshisnobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in Toronto, the Dodgers will have to figure out how to get at least seven innings from their starters and stay away from a damn terrible bullpen.
Unsurprisingly, it was the bullpen that gave up this game after Ohtani walked in the seventh inning trailing just 2-1 but with runners on second and third.
Enter Anthony Banda, who allowed an RBI single to Andres Jimenez and an RBI grounder to Ty France. Later, after intentionally walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blake Treinen took the mound and allowed an RBI single to Beau Bichette and another RBI single to Addison Barger.
The Dodgers came out of the inning trailing 6–1, and the game was essentially over.
And just think, the day started off so brightly.
Kiké Hernandez leaned into the stands on his second serve to catch the free throw. Ohtani walked in the first inning, marking his 10th consecutive base hit. The video panel showed Prince Henry and Meghan, both wearing Dodger caps, the crowd booed and it was all so much fun.
The Dodgers even struck first in the second when Max Muncy walked, Tommy Edman singled to right and Hernandez scored Muncy with a long shot to right. It was Dodger Hernandez's 32nd postseason RBI, an amazing feat for a man who is usually invisible in the regular season. He already holds the franchise record with 89 postseason games played.
The lead didn't last long, however, as the Jays quickly battled back in the third with a leadoff single from Nathan Lux followed by a two-run home run by – who else? — Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Dodgers appeared to finally upset the Jays in the sixth when one-out singles by Freddie Freeman and Hernandez pushed starter Shane Bieber to the bench. But faced with left fielder Mason Fluharty, the Dodgers lost in spectacular fashion, with Muncy flying out to center and Tommy Edman pinch-hitting.
Meanwhile, through the first six innings, Ohtani was as resilient as ever. How did one man run the bases nine times in a six-and-a-half hour game one night, and quit pitching the next night?
After Guerrero's home run, Ohtani then retired 11 of the next 12 hitters before allowing a single to Dalton Varsho and a double to Ernie Clement that led to his exit in the seventh.
Roberts had no choice but to head to his much-maligned bullpen. But since they had all worked the night before, they were especially toothless.
“Obviously last night was a tense night for players on both clubs, but it's kind of a situation where everyone is involved,” Roberts said.
If it wasn't before Tuesday, it is now.
