Here are some instant reactions from Toronto:
1. This sets up an epic Saturday
Let’s be real: A series like this one deserved a Game 7. The Dodgers and Blue Jays have traded punches and counterpunches for the past week, and the sport’s biggest prize is on the line on Saturday night at Rogers Centre.
Aside from all the legacies on the line — and there are a lot of them — this should just be a really fun ballgame. On the Dodgers side, it’s unclear how Shohei Ohtani will factor on the mound, but he will almost certainly be a factor. On the Blue Jays’ side, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber could be available in relief behind Max Scherzer, who also started the most recent World Series Game 7, in 2019 for the Nationals.
“This has been a great World Series,” said Kiké Hernández, who started the remarkable double play that ended Game 6. “The fact that we’re getting a Game 7 is well-deserved.”
2. The Dodgers’ pitching plans worked — now what?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto worked six innings of one-run ball. And it’s a testament to how good he’s been all postseason that when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lifted him before the seventh, the reaction was: “Only six innings?”
Roberts asked his much-maligned bullpen to record nine outs. And it did precisely that. Justin Wrobleski covered the seventh. Roki Sasaki got the next three outs. Tyler Glasnow nailed down the save — an ending punctuated with a dramatic double play.
Now the Dodgers must figure out a plan for Game 7. Sasaki was taxed on Friday. Is he available? Glasnow almost certainly will be — but he’s never pitched on back-to-back days. Is it possible Yamamoto could return? He downplayed the idea, and Roberts indicated he would be unavailable. But what if this thing goes extras? And what’s the plan for Ohtani?
Whatever they decide, these are questions the Dodgers are more than happy they’ll have to answer.
3. George Springer is more than just a decoy
Eyebrows were raised when the Game 6 starting lineup featured Springer in the leadoff spot. After watching him exit mid at-bat in some serious pain during Game 3 and missing the next two games, surely there was no way he could contribute the rest of the way, right?
Well, Springer is apparently built different. Though he was in clear discomfort each at-bat, grimacing after almost every swing, the Blue Jays’ designated hitter showed he can still be a factor in this series, roping a 109.8 mph RBI single off Yamamoto on a 3-0 count in the third. After a 98.6 mph groundout in the sixth, Springer led off the eighth with a single off Sasaki, providing further evidence that he might not be as compromised as we thought, which means the Dodgers can’t just look at him as an easy out in Game 7.
“Georgie is tough, man,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “He’s been in this situation. He understands this time of year and what you need to do. No one’s feeling great. At-bat quality is there. It doesn’t look the prettiest every single pitch, but Georgie is just the definition of a gamer and hopefully comes up in a big spot again.”
