LOS ANGELES — After a World Series game that dabbled in the absurd, Shohei Ohtani will get another chance to create even more postseason magic on Tuesday.
Ohtani is set to take the mound in Game 4 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays after he hit two home runs and got on base a postseason-record nine times in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-5 victory in 18 innings of Game 3 on Monday.
The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup when Freddie Freeman hit a game-ending home run in a contest that lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes, while tying the longest World Series game ever played by innings.
After already experiencing leg cramps in a two-homer, two-double, five-walk night, Ohtani was asked on the FOX broadcast how he might feel for Game 4 on Tuesday.
“I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.
Ohtani now has five home runs in his last two home playoff games and is the first player to ever have three multi-homer games in a single postseason. He has eight home runs in 13 games of these playoffs alone.
“I hope we don’t lose sight of our starting pitcher (Tuesday) got on base nine times tonight,” Freeman said. “Just incredible. When you’re that hot and you’re hitting balls right-center, left-center like Shohei was, you just knew he was feeling good.”
Ohtani’s two-way abilities already collided in a historic performance during the National League Division Series clincher against the Milwaukee Brewers when he had 10 strikeouts from the mound and hit three home runs at the plate.
It was Ohtani’s second-ever appearance as a pitcher and a hitter in a playoff game. The right-hander has gone 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in playoff pitching starts against the Philadelphia Phillies (Oct. 4) and Brewers (Oct. 17).
Ohtani has three career regular-season starts against the Blue Jays, all as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, going 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 19 innings.
The Blue Jays will counter with right-hander Shane Bieber, a Southern California native who was traded to the Blue Jays in July while still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Bieber is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA in three starts this postseason. He started Game 7 of the American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners and gave up two runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Bieber has faced the Dodgers just once, in 2022, when he allowed three runs (two earned) over 6 1/3 innings of a no-decision as a member of the Cleveland Guardians.
Getting as much as possible out of both starters will be paramount in Game 4 after the teams combined to use 19 pitchers in Game 3.
“Respect for the entire pitching staff,” Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said. “Great job by them to keep us in the game. They gave us every opportunity to score and we couldn’t score.”
The Dodgers set a World Series record by using 10 pitchers, including Clayton Kershaw to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the 12th and Will Klein over four scoreless innings to earn the win on a career-high 72 pitches.
Toronto designated hitter George Springer left in the seventh inning of Game 3 with an injury to his right side and underwent an MRI in the early-morning hours Tuesday.
“He’s obviously a huge part of our lineup,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Glad I got him out when I did and hopefully it didn’t make anything worse, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
