The Dodgers will get a second chance to move within one victory of their second consecutive World Series championship Wednesday when they face the Toronto Blue Jays in the final game of the year at Dodger Stadium.
The Blue Jays tied the best-of-seven series at two games a piece with a 6-2 victory Tuesday as Shohei Ohtani and two relievers allowed four runs in the seventh inning as Toronto broke open what had been a one-run game.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 1 with Dodger left-hander Blake Snell making his 237th major league start — combining the regular season and postseason — and Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage making his eighth.
“We saw Yesavage not too long ago, and so that’s certainly information that we’re going to use,” manager Dave Roberts said in his postgame news conference Tuesday. “Expect Blake Snell to be better than he was in Game 1.”
Snell (3-1 in the postseason) allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings and was charged with the loss. Yesavage (2-1) did not figure in the decision, being replaced by Mason Fluharty at the start of the fifth inning and the scored tied, 2-2, after allowing two runs and four hits in four innings.
When asked at a news conference Tuesday, “What did you learn from your previous experience that will help you this time around?” Snell responded, “I just learned things I did wrong, things I did right. I can’t really tell you because then that’s telling them.
“Just fastball command needs to be better. That’s apparent to anyone.”
Roberts said he was “going to think long and hard” about his lineup for Game 5 Wednesday “and it might look a little bit different.”
This is the 46th time the World Series has been tied at two games a piece in the best-of-seven format. The team winning Game 5 has gone on to win the Series 31 times, 67.4%.
The first pitch is set for 5:08 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox, broadcast in English by KLAC-AM (570) and in Spanish by KTNQ-AM (1020).
Game 6 will be played Friday in Toronto, as would Game 7 Saturday, if necessary.
In Game 4 Tuesday, the Dodgers were out-hit 11-6, 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.
Toronto was 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
When asked if he thought “there was any carryover offensively from” Monday’s 18-inning game, Roberts responded, “You know, I don’t know. I think that you got to give credit to (Shane) Bieber for making pitches, getting ahead.
“Those guys … went through the same thing as we did. I felt like we were prepared tonight. Guys came in fresh… I thought we had some good kind of energy early, and then it just kind of petered out a little bit.”
Ohtani made his World Series pitching debut after not pitching in 2024 as he recovered from a procedure to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow performed on Sep. 19, 2023.
Ohtani allowed one hit, walked one batter and struck out one his first time through the Blue Jays lineup, but was less successful his second time through.
Nathan Lukes, Toronto’s leadoff hitter, singled on his second at-bat. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed by hitting a sweeper 395 feet over the left-center field fence for the first home run Ohtani has allowed in his three postseason appearances.
“Looking back in hindsight, it was just a regrettable pitch, something I wish that I could have taken back,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “It was just a bad spot, that location.”
With the Dodgers trailing 2-1, Daulton Varsho singled and Ernie Clement doubled to begin the seventh, prompting Roberts to relieve Ohtani with Anthony Banda after he had thrown 93 pitches.
“He gave us a good effort,” Roberts said.
Andrés Giménez singled on the eighth pitch from Banda, driving in Varsho.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined out to Max Muncy, the Dodgers’ third baseman, who threw to Freddie Freeman, their first baseman, in an attempt to complete a double play. Adam Hamari, the first base umpire, ruled the ball beat Giménez back to the base, calling him out.
The Blue Jays challenged the call, which was overturned following video review, prolonging the inning and leading to Toronto scoring three more times.
Pinch hitter Ty France grounded out to Tommy Edman, the Dodgers’ second baseman, with Clement scoring.
Guerrero was intentionally walked. Blake Treinen replaced Banda and allowed a single to Bo Bichette to drive in Giménez, increasing Toronto’s lead to 5-1.
Addison Barger singled on the next pitch to drive in Guerrero.
Ohtani walked in his first plate appearance, taking sole possession of the World Series record for consecutive walks with six, including four consecutive international walks. He had shared the record with Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who had set the mark in 1928.
Bieber (2-0), a 2013 graduate of Laguna Hills High School and the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings with three walks and three strike outs.
Ohtani (2-1) allowed four runs on six hits in six innings, with six strikeouts and one walk in front of a sell-out crowd announced at 52,552, which included Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, the former Meghan Markle, who was born in Canoga Park and raised in View Park-Windsor Hills. They sat one row in front of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the second. Muncy walked with one out, moved to third on Edman’s single and scored on Kiké Hernandez’s sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers scored their other run in the ninth. Teoscar Hernández led off by drawing a six-pitch walk from Louis Varland, the fourth pitcher for the Blue Jays, who had just entered the game.
Muncy doubled on the next pitch. Hernández scored when the next batter, Edman, grounded out.