LOS ANGELES – They have lost a half-dozen games this postseason and every time they do, the Toronto Blue Jays dust off the platitudes with the ease of Tony Robbins on a book tour.
League leaders in comeback wins.
Flush the loss, turn the page.
Glue Jays. Get it?
Now, though, even the most jaded observer is forced to agree that there’s substance behind all this talk. Recovering from a devastating 18-inning loss and moving within two victories of a World Series championship can have that effect.
So when they played two games worth of baseball in Game 3 of the World Series and walked away only with a devastating setback that threatened their season, with the greatest two-way player in baseball history staring down from the mound in Game 4, the Blue Jays were all too happy to note that even a dispiriting 18-inning loss only counts as one.
They simply woke up, nine fresh innings ahead of them, and dented the myth of Shohei Ohtani with a go-ahead two-run home run from their own franchise player, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
They witnessed manager John Schneider, his pitching reserves greatly drained, guide a quartet of arms through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ snakepit of a lineup, allowing the rest of the staff to reload.
Finally, the sun down at Dodger Stadium and a one-run seventh-inning lead needing fortification, they chased Ohtani from the game, sent nine men to the plate, peppered a pair of relievers with base hits and basic execution and demoralized the Dodgers, tacking on four runs to ensure a 6-2 victory that squared this World Series at two games apiece.
In winning one game, the Blue Jays guaranteed so much, at a time their circumstances looked so dire:
That Rogers Centre will light up at least one more time this year, their best pitcher, Kevin Gausman, getting one more shot at the Dodgers.
That this best-of-seven is now a best-of-three, with a Game 5 at Chavez Ravine on Oct. 29 that once looked like a Dodger coronation instead becomes a massive opportunity for Toronto, which can ensure itself two shots to win a world championship back home.
And perhaps more important, further cement the Blue Jays’ conviction in one another and this cause they’ve taken on, to bring Toronto its first World Series championship since 1993.
These Blue Jays can be historic. They’re already fully convinced they’re something special.
“I think this is a quote from Herb Brooks,” says third baseman Ernie Clement, citing the man who led the 1980 USA men’s hockey team to a stunning gold medal. “But we are a team of uncommon men. I think a normal team would have folded today.
“And we’re not normal. I think we’re the best team in baseball. We got out of bed with our hair on fire and ready to play.”
Clement, the curly-haired infielder whose 26 postseason hits are second in these playoffs only to Guerrero’s 28, was proof enough.
His seventh-inning double ended Ohtani’s night. An inning later, his grounder to shallow right field became a hit when he dove into the first base bag, as if earning his eighth multi-hit game this postseason was the difference between eating or going hungry.
Oh, but there was so much more.
Like Shane Bieber, the Game 4 starter who began warming up in anticipation of an appearance in the 19th inning of Game 3, only to watch Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer end the nearly seven-hour saga.
It was wild-eyed veteran Max Scherzer, around the 11th or 12th inning, urging Bieber to think about coming into the game “if things got squirrely.” Pitching coach Pete Walker agreed. Bieber started tossing in the 18th.
And then Freeman’s home run sent everyone home, and Bieber into a fitful night of attempted sleep.
“I was definitely amped up, right?” says Bieber. “You have to get yourself ready to pitch in the 19th inning of a World Series game marathon. Pete was like, ‘Yeah, we might need you as a last resort.’
“And I think I was probably very close to getting the ball.”
Yet in one of those twists of fate that occur every October, Toronto lost the game. Bieber stayed on turn for Game 4.
And a guy who couldn’t escape the third inning of one playoff start and the fourth inning of another stared down Ohtani, the slugger who reached base nine times on four hits, two homers and five walks in Game 3.
And struck him out twice, allowing just a harmless walk, and guided the Blue Jays into the sixth inning. It was the latest step forward for a guy who didn’t start a game until August after recovering from April 2024 Tommy John surgery.
“I’m really happy for him,” says Schneider, “for the last year-and-a-half journey he’s been on.”
Schneider’s hot hand warmed further when he yanked Bieber at just the right time for lefty Mason Fluharty, who got the final two outs in the sixth, still nursing a 2-1 lead.
Next? Erstwhile starter Chris Bassitt was asked to pitch on consecutive days in relief for the first time since 2012, in the minor leagues. He retired six of the seven batters he faced, a proud starter, at the age of 36, turning into deluxe playoff set-up man.
Who is loving life even more in this, his third and perhaps final year in Toronto.
“This is probably – I don’t want to discredit my Oakland teams – but this is the closest team I’ve ever been a part of. Thirty guys that truly care about each other,” says Bassitt. “As crazy as it is, you go to the wives’ suite, there’s 30 wives and girlfriends that are very, very close, too. Haven’t seen that.
“We just have a very family bond, so to speak, where we genuinely care for each other. We’re picking each other up constantly. Not putting too much pressure on each other. If we just play our game, we typically win.”
Bassitt has not given up a run in 6 ⅔ innings of postseason relief, spread across five games. He has retired 20 of 22 batters faced.
“He’s been unbelievable,” says Clement. “To kind of switch the role a little bit and do it seamlessly is really impressive.”
Yet Game 4 all started with Guerrero, the bell cow on this Blue Jays buildup since his April 2019 debut. He’s now smacked seven home runs this postseason, second to Ohtani’s eight, and they are tied with 14 RBIs.
In the third inning of Game 4, they were head-to-head, the sort of megastar matchup that typically doesn’t translate to baseball yet did here in the dying afternoon light of L.A.
It mattered to Guerrero, for sure.
“It was very important for me to hit that home run,” says Guerrero through interpreter Hector Lebron. “I respect Ohtani a lot, and I know basically myself and him, we are, like, the talk of the series, but when we are between those two lines, we’re competing.”
Translation: The sky-high Ohtani vs Guerrero logos don’t just make for great network TV backdrops. This can be a matter of significant pride.
“I get that it’s easy to write Ohtani versus Guerrero. To us, it’s Toronto versus Los Angeles,” says Schneider. “But that swing was huge.
“A sweeper is a pitch designed to generate pop-ups, in my opinion. And the swing that Vlad put on it was elite.”
Game 5 will be a Game 1 pitching rematch, 22-year-old Trey Yesavage vs. veteran lefty Blake Snell. The Blue Jays will arrive off a normal night’s sleep, a chance to take a 3-2 Series lead.
Cue Herb Brooks? Not exactly.
Even if Clement can draw inspiration from his words, there will be no need to run through a wall. Not even after an 18-inning journey devolved into misery.
“We didn’t need any of that. Every guy in the clubhouse came ready to play today,” says Clement. “There was no rah-rah speech. There was no need for that. We know what we need to do.
“It’s a testament to the character in there.”
And perhaps it’s time to start believing it when these Jays say so.
