LOS ANGELES — The 2025 World Series is tied. Again.
This was an all-time resilient effort from Toronto
Every good team has a knack for bouncing back from bad losses. How else do you succeed in a sport with games played every day for six or seven months? But these Blue Jays have taken that to another level.
In the ALCS against Seattle, they dropped two straight at home to start the series, then bounced back. They lost Game 5 on an eighth-inning grand slam, then bounced back. And on Tuesday, they turned in their most impressive bounceback performance to date.
A night before, the Blue Jays had lost Game 3 in 18 innings. They’d also lost George Springer to injury. None of it seemed to matter. Shane Bieber was excellent. The offense brought its usual blend of power and peskiness. There were no signs of disappointment whatsoever after dropping a heartbreaker of a Game 3.
And now, at the very least, this series is headed back to Toronto for Game 6.
The Blue Jays DON’T have to walk Ohtani every time
Coming out of Game 3, there was a large sector of the baseball world suggesting that the Blue Jays either walk or pitch around Shohei Ohtani for the rest of this Series. And you know what? It didn’t seem like a crazy idea given what had just transpired, with Ohtani blasting two homers and roping two doubles in each of his first four plate appearances on Monday night before getting walked five straight times to reach base an astonishing nine times.
Game 4 showed that Toronto does not necessarily have to take the bat out of Ohtani’s hands completely. Sure, Bieber played it safe with him on a six-pitch walk to lead off the bottom of the first. After that, however, Ohtani proved to be human at the plate, striking out twice against Bieber in the third and the fifth, then grounding out to second in the seventh.
Yes, Ohtani was pitching, which you figure can limit his abilities at the plate more so than on a day he’s only the designated hitter. The Blue Jays may prefer to face Mookie Betts, who has gone silent at the plate this Series batting behind Ohtani, but the theory that they can’t win if they keep pitching to Ohtani may have been a bit overblown.
So much of the focus at this World Series has centered around the Dodgers’ biggest superstar. Rightly so. Ohtani has been incredible. But on the other side, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has sure looked the part himself.
It’s not merely the numbers — though the numbers are gaudy. (Guerrero’s 1.306 OPS is the best among all hitters this postseason.) Beyond that, Guerrero seems to be willing the Blue Jays forward. On Monday, he was brilliant at first base, delivering a remarkable assist across the diamond, then scoring a go-ahead run with some outstanding baserunning.
On Tuesday, Guerrero was back to contributing in his usual way — with his bat. He launched a hanging sweeper from Ohtani into the left-field pavilion, giving the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. He reached base three times. With Springer out of the lineup, so much of the burden now falls to Guerrero. As ever, he seems to be up for the challenge.
