SIMMONS: Now what for World Series after Blue Jays and Dodgers each win one their way?

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Long before the finale and before the charter planes took off for the West Coast, the World Series ended in a tie after two very different games.

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Two games with styles that created brawls, two baseball games of varying levels and methods, and a bit of baseball madness.

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On Friday night in a frantic Rogers Center, almost as loud as the stadium, the Blue Jays won the series opener, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, showing strength up and down their lineup, scoring a total of 11 runs, nine of which came in one inning.

This was a Blue Jays baseball game, entirely designed and planned by manager John Schneider and their egalitarian front office, with so many participants, some famous, some unknown.

In the quieter, more intense Rogers Center on Saturday night, in the same building but in a different way, the Dodgers greats showed up, giving up almost nothing, giving the Blue Jays almost nothing to hit.

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The Jays won the first game with their explosive offensive style.

The Dodgers won the second game of old school baseball, Dodgers baseball.

And Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the expensive toys in the Dodgers' very expensive arsenal, gave up two hits to the first two batters he faced in Game 2 and two more hits in the final nine innings to lead Los Angeles to a 5-1 victory in Game 2.

The Jays scored 11 runs to win the first game, and after midnight there was still dancing and noise in the streets almost everywhere.

The Dodgers allowed just one run Saturday night, the sixth time in the postseason they've allowed just one run. The same streets that were so noisy on Friday seemed quiet as Saturday turned to Sunday.

These were two World Series games that no one was entirely sure about. How will this series progress, many of us have wondered? Which team can defend the style of play over the other?

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Now this is one victory, the best of five, right now. Winner and style go all.

As great as Yamamoto was in Game 2—he threw his third complete game of the World Series this century—Kevin Gausman was a superb thrower for the Blue Jays. He nearly matched Yamamoto's pitching until the seventh inning, when two pitches left him, left the stadium, and the 1-1 game suddenly became 3-1 Dodgers and was truly over for the night.

It was a comeback game for the Dodgers, only Bob Gibson was no longer pitching. He once had eight complete games in various World Series. Nobody does this anywhere else.

But at one point Saturday night, the 34-year-old Gausman, late in his fine career, pitching in his first World Series and so excited about it, retired 17 batters in a row. He struck out hit after hit against Yamamoto, giving up almost nothing until Will Smith and Max Muncy hit solo homers for Los Angeles in the seventh inning. And that was the night, and the series was tied.

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“Keeping (Yamamoto) inside.” Manager Dave Roberts said after the game: “It wasn’t difficult.

“He was so good,” Jays manager John Schneider said, admiring Yamamoto. “He made our life difficult. You just have to give him credit.”

And about Gausman he said: “Oh, Kev was really good, at one point he scored 17 points in a row.” In his four years with the Blue Jays, Gausman had some of his best games. There just aren't that many of them.

This makes the loss even harder to take: Gausman was outstanding after missing the first half. He was that commander. The two men on the mound weren't so much pitching as they were conducting a baseball orchestra. Until we ran out of notes to play.

Now Game 3 is approaching, and that's where things start to get tricky for the Blue Jays, who are scheduled to start Max Scherzer on Monday night. It's an emotional decision and a decision to hold your breath. This could be all the Jays need, or a gut punch that could derail their postseason.

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With Scherzer, you just don't know.

He'll pitch Game 3, which is something of a surprise pick for Schneider, who will then turn to Shane Bieber in Game 4. Tyler Glasnow, who the Jays are familiar with, will pitch Game 3 before the great Shohei Ohtani pitches the next match.

Pitching is what Los Angeles is all about. Saturday night's win marked the Dodgers' sixth straight postseason victory in which they have only given up one run each time.

Gausman did not give up a hit in the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth innings Saturday night. Normally this would be a win for him and Jace. Now I wonder when the Jays will next lead the series.

“It was a lot of fun,” Gausman said of the baseball experience. Result: not much fun. But he doffed his cap to Yamamoto as a sign of professional gratitude. “These days, with ball counts and everything, he’s earned the right (to throw a complete game).”

“Can we get to them and sort them out?” Chris Bassitt, now a relief pitcher, asked about the loss. He asked the question seriously.

“Every game is completely different,” he said. In terms of entertainment, form and design.

“You enjoy the game,” Bassitt said. “You enjoy the game and move on to the next one.”

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