But then, former Nat Max Scherzer -- in my opinion, the Greatest Nat since the Nats returned to DC -- mows down the next three batters, and Ohtani is stranded on second. After 1: Toronto 0, Los Angeles 0
Controversy in the top of the 2d. Bichette leads off with a single. Varsho appears to draw ball four, and starts down to first -- but it's called a strike. Bichette had started to trot to second, and the Dodgers pick him off. Varsho then does walk and Kirk singles him to third. But the Dodgers get out of the inning, and now there are a lot of complaints about the call that led to Bichette's getting picked off.
This year, Teoscar Hernandez batted .247 with 25 home runs and 89 RBI's. As those stats indicate, he makes a lot of outs. But every once in a while, he makes his presence known.
In the bottom of the 3d, Ohtani gets into a 1-2 hole and fights off pitch after pitch until finally finding one he likes. He then drives that pitch deep into the right field seats to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The ball was so low that it looked like a golf shot.
Still in the bottom of the 3d, Freeman walks and steals second. With two out, Will Smith dumps a single into right field. Freeman tries to score from second, and Barger throws him out by a mile. After 3: Dodgers 2, Blue Jays 0.
Guerrero leads off the fourth with a walk. Bichette hits a slow roller to second, but Edman lets it go over his glove for an error, and the Blue Jays have runners on first and third with no outs.
Alejandro Kirk, who is murdering the Dodgers in this series, then blasts a three-run homer to left-center to put the Blue Jays up 3 to 2. Don't commit errors, kids -- either on the base paths or in the field.
Terrible base running by Freeman to end the bottom of the third, and then a huge blunder by Edman. You can't expect to stop the Blue Jays from hitting home runs -- they're just too good. But you can't give them extra runs as well.
Barger rips a single to right, and this game could easily get away from the Dodgers, who have no bullpen. In Game One, the Dodgers got out to a 2-0 lead -- and then Toronto scored 11 runs in a row.
Clement singles, and Toronto has runners on the corners with one out. Gimenez brings home Barger with a fly to center, and the Blue Jays lead 4-2. Once their offense gets you down, they just beat your brains out.
With Glasnow on the ropes after four innings, you have to think Toronto is coming out for the kill in the top of the 5th. Again, the Dodgers have no bullpen -- if Glasnow can't get them to at least the 7th inning, they may as well concede the game and take their chances tomorrow.
Glasnow walks Nathan Lukes, gets Guerrero to fly to right, and strikes out Bo Bichette. Brave pitching from Glasnow. Now Varsho is coming up, and the Dodgers have decided to bring in Anthony Banda (5-1, 3.18 ERA in 71 appearances). It took Glasnow 85 pitches to throw 4 2/3 innings.
Kike Hernandez leads off the bottom of the 5th with a single. Andy Pages, mired in a terrible slump, flies out to right. So that brings up Ohtani, who has a double and a homer so far. Toronto will not let him have a third crack at Scherzer. They bring in Mason Fluharty (5-2, 4.44 ERA in 55 appearances).
The left-handed Fluharty gets the right-handed Betts to fly out to left. But with two outs, the left-handed Freeman pokes a single past the diving Guerrero down the first base line. Ohtani comes home, and the game is TIED at 4. What a game!
In the top of the 6th, Justin Wrobleski (5-5, 4.32 ERA in 24 appearances) pitches around a one-out single to retire the Blue Jays. The game is still tied at 4 after 5 1/2 innings.
With one out in the bottom of the 6th, Teoscar Hernandez singles to left. With two out in the bottom of the 6th, Kike Hernandez hits a grounder deep into the hole. The shortstop throws to first, but has no play. Vlad Guerrero sees that Teoscar is trying to reach third, so he cuts off the throw and quickly whips the ball over to third, where Teoscar is OUT, thus ending the inning. That's the second time in this game where a Dodger inning has ended with a runner getting thrown out on the basepaths.
To be fair, the next batter was Andy Pages, who was probably going to make an out no matter what. But now Pages will lead off the bottom of the 7th with an out, instead of letting Ohtani lead off that critical inning.
Wrobleski retires France and Lukes to start the top of the 7th. That brings up Guerrero, who is a serious threat to put Toronto in the lead. At this point, the Dodgers turn to former Nat Blake Treinen (2-7, 5.40 ERA in 32 appearances).
Guerrero promptly singles, which is probably the best outcome the Dodgers could have hoped for. Bichettte then lines a shot down into the right field corner. While it's bouncing around in the outfield, Guerrero races all the way home from first. Toronto has been smarter and quicker than the Dodgers all night. Blue Jays lead 5-4, and with Treinen out there, they have a chance to blow this game open.
To be clear, Guerrero scored from first on a two-out single, in part because the ball took a funny bounce in the outfield, and in part because Guerrero is an amazing athlete. Meanwhile, Freeman was thrown out at home and Teoscar Hernandez was thrown out at third.
Ohtani's up next. The Blue Jays have a meeting on the mound with their new pitcher, Seranthony Dominguez (4-4, 3.16 ERA), to discuss how to pitch him. But the meeting is not successful, because OHTANI BLASTS A HOME RUN TO LEFT CENTER! The game is TIED again!
Fox has a great shot of the fans sitting behind home plate. After Ohtani hit the ball, you could see a guy about my age saying, "You've got to be kidding me." I know exactly how he felt.
Dominguez walks Freeman and Smith, so the Dodgers have runners on first and second with two out. Muncy gets a 3-1 count, but beats the next pitch on an easy ground ball to second to end the inning. Huge missed opportunity there. After seven: Los Angeles 5, Toronto 5.
Barger hits a grounder to short, and reaches on an error when Freeman can't pick Betts's low throw. That's the second Dodger error in the game, not to mention the running errors. Straw goes in to run for Barger. Clement flies out to right, but Gimenez -- the number-nine batter -- singles to left. The Blue Jays have runners on first and second with one out.
So Dreyer failed, and the Dodgers will now turn to Roki Sasaki, who has been their closer in the playoffs. Sasaki is pretty much their last line of defense -- I think he'll stay in until the game is won or lost.
France hits a grounder to third that should have been a double play, but Straw is in Muncy's way, so he has to throw to first. Two out with runners on second and third.
Sasaki battles Lukes, and finally induces him to hit a chopper back to the mound. He grabs it, and in his joy almost races all the way to first before flipping to Freeman for the third out. After 7 1/2: Los Angeles 5, Toronto 5.
For the 8th, the Blue Jays send out Chris Bassitt (11-9, 3.96 ERA in 31 starts). He mows down Teoscar Hernandez, Edman, and Kike Hernandez with no problem. After 8: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 5.
In the top of the 9th, Guerrero flies out to left, but Kiner-Falefa (who pinch ran for Bichette) draws a walk. Varsho then rips a liner that bounces out of Freeman's glove into short right field. Kiner-Falefa tries to reach third, but Edman chased down the ball and throws Kiner-Falefa out at third. Two outs, Varsho on first, Kirk at the plate.
That was an amazing play. Edman looked like he was casually sliding into second on what probably could've been a standup double, and his slide toward the ball was actually toward the right-field line--away from third base where he eventually had to make a perfect throw.
Of all the skills in any sport, it seems to me like the professionals have made their greatest improvement in throwing out runners from the outfield or across the infield. There have already been about 10 throws from the outfield in this series that would rank with the stuff that shows up in Roberto Clemente highlight reels. And it feels like there's a play every other inning of any baseball game played today that is right there with Graig Nettles in the 1978 World Series.
Sasaki walks Kirk to put runners on first and second. That brings up Straw, who hits a grounder to third. Muncy forces Kirk at second. After 8 1/2, the game is still tied at 5.
This is when we went to bed. My wife watched into the 15th or 16th. Then I woke up when she turned everything off, and, after a while, I gave up on going back to sleep and moved back out to the living room and turned on the game. Freddie Freeman was coming to the plate in the 18th inning when I got settled in to watch some more. Amazing game.
Just as they have since 1952 (when they first started wearing the red numerals at home), the Dodgers have the best uniform in sports.
ReplyDeleteAs the road team, the Blue Jays are going with blue jerseys and gray pants tonight.
ReplyDeleteBrad Paisley does the National Anthem in Dodger Stadium.
ReplyDeleteBlue Jay Lineup:
ReplyDelete1. Springer, DH
2. Lukes, LF
3. Guerrero, Jr., 1B
4. Bichette, 2B
5. Varsho, CF
6. Kirk, C
7. Barger, RF
8. Clement, 3B
9. Gimenez, SS
Dodger lineup:
ReplyDelete1. Ohtani, DH
2. Betts, SS
3. Freeman, F., 1B
4. Smith, W., C
5. Muncy, 3B
6. Hernandez, T., RF
7. Edman, 2B
8. Hernandez, K., LF
9. Pages, A., CF
Toronto goes down in order in the top of the 1st. Ohtani leads off the bottom of the 1st with a rifle-shot double down the right field line.
ReplyDeleteBut then, former Nat Max Scherzer -- in my opinion, the Greatest Nat since the Nats returned to DC -- mows down the next three batters, and Ohtani is stranded on second. After 1: Toronto 0, Los Angeles 0
ReplyDeleteWith 8:28 left in the first quarter, Washington and the Chiefs are scoreless on Monday Night Football.
ReplyDeleteTop Nats by Wins Above Replacement since the Nats returned to DC:
ReplyDelete1. Max Scherzer: 40.3
2. Ryan Zimmerman: 40.1
3. Stephen Strasburg: 32.3
4. Anthony Rendon: 30.3
5. Bryce Harper: 27.7
6. Trea Turner: 22.3
7. Juan Soto: 21.4
8. Jordan Zimmermann: 20.3
9. Livan Hernandez: 19.8
10. Gio Gonzalez: 19.3
Controversy in the top of the 2d. Bichette leads off with a single. Varsho appears to draw ball four, and starts down to first -- but it's called a strike. Bichette had started to trot to second, and the Dodgers pick him off. Varsho then does walk and Kirk singles him to third. But the Dodgers get out of the inning, and now there are a lot of complaints about the call that led to Bichette's getting picked off.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 2d, Teoscar Hernandez blasts a solo shot to left to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. No controversy there.
ReplyDeleteThis year, Teoscar Hernandez batted .247 with 25 home runs and 89 RBI's. As those stats indicate, he makes a lot of outs. But every once in a while, he makes his presence known.
ReplyDeleteAfter 2: Los Angeles 1, Toronto 0
ReplyDeleteAfter 1: Kansas City 0, Washington 0
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 3d, Ohtani gets into a 1-2 hole and fights off pitch after pitch until finally finding one he likes. He then drives that pitch deep into the right field seats to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The ball was so low that it looked like a golf shot.
ReplyDeleteI meant here that the pitch was low. Ohtani's homer was a soaring high drive, like something Rory McIlroy would hit.
DeleteStill in the bottom of the 3d, Freeman walks and steals second. With two out, Will Smith dumps a single into right field. Freeman tries to score from second, and Barger throws him out by a mile. After 3: Dodgers 2, Blue Jays 0.
ReplyDeleteWith 4 minutes left in the second quarter from Arrowhead, Kansas City leads Washington 7-0.
ReplyDeleteGuerrero leads off the fourth with a walk. Bichette hits a slow roller to second, but Edman lets it go over his glove for an error, and the Blue Jays have runners on first and third with no outs.
ReplyDeleteAlejandro Kirk, who is murdering the Dodgers in this series, then blasts a three-run homer to left-center to put the Blue Jays up 3 to 2. Don't commit errors, kids -- either on the base paths or in the field.
ReplyDeleteTerrible base running by Freeman to end the bottom of the third, and then a huge blunder by Edman. You can't expect to stop the Blue Jays from hitting home runs -- they're just too good. But you can't give them extra runs as well.
ReplyDeleteBarger rips a single to right, and this game could easily get away from the Dodgers, who have no bullpen. In Game One, the Dodgers got out to a 2-0 lead -- and then Toronto scored 11 runs in a row.
ReplyDeleteClement singles, and Toronto has runners on the corners with one out. Gimenez brings home Barger with a fly to center, and the Blue Jays lead 4-2. Once their offense gets you down, they just beat your brains out.
ReplyDeleteJust more evidence of how amazing Yamamoto's performance was in Game Two.
ReplyDeleteAt the half: Kansas City 7, Washington 7.
ReplyDeleteScherzer rolls through the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 4th. After 4, the Blue Jays lead 4-2. Dodgers have a 24.5 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteWith Glasnow on the ropes after four innings, you have to think Toronto is coming out for the kill in the top of the 5th. Again, the Dodgers have no bullpen -- if Glasnow can't get them to at least the 7th inning, they may as well concede the game and take their chances tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteGlasnow walks Nathan Lukes, gets Guerrero to fly to right, and strikes out Bo Bichette. Brave pitching from Glasnow. Now Varsho is coming up, and the Dodgers have decided to bring in Anthony Banda (5-1, 3.18 ERA in 71 appearances). It took Glasnow 85 pitches to throw 4 2/3 innings.
ReplyDeleteVarsho pops up to end the inning, and Toronto still leads 4-2.
ReplyDeleteKike Hernandez leads off the bottom of the 5th with a single. Andy Pages, mired in a terrible slump, flies out to right. So that brings up Ohtani, who has a double and a homer so far. Toronto will not let him have a third crack at Scherzer. They bring in Mason Fluharty (5-2, 4.44 ERA in 55 appearances).
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't work. Ohtani doubles off the wall in left center, and Hernandez races all the way around from first to score. Toronto leads 4-3.
ReplyDeleteThe left-handed Fluharty gets the right-handed Betts to fly out to left. But with two outs, the left-handed Freeman pokes a single past the diving Guerrero down the first base line. Ohtani comes home, and the game is TIED at 4. What a game!
ReplyDeleteThat's all for Fluharty, who is replaced by Louis Varland (4-3, 2.97 ERA in 74 appearances).
ReplyDeleteOhtani so far tonight:
ReplyDelete3 at-bats
2 runs
3 hits
2 RBI
Varland strikes out Smith to end the fifth. After 5: Los Angeles 4, Toronto 4.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 6th, Justin Wrobleski (5-5, 4.32 ERA in 24 appearances) pitches around a one-out single to retire the Blue Jays. The game is still tied at 4 after 5 1/2 innings.
ReplyDeleteWith one out in the bottom of the 6th, Teoscar Hernandez singles to left. With two out in the bottom of the 6th, Kike Hernandez hits a grounder deep into the hole. The shortstop throws to first, but has no play. Vlad Guerrero sees that Teoscar is trying to reach third, so he cuts off the throw and quickly whips the ball over to third, where Teoscar is OUT, thus ending the inning. That's the second time in this game where a Dodger inning has ended with a runner getting thrown out on the basepaths.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the next batter was Andy Pages, who was probably going to make an out no matter what. But now Pages will lead off the bottom of the 7th with an out, instead of letting Ohtani lead off that critical inning.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Springer tries to lead off the top of the 7th, but pulls himself due to problems with his injured knee. He is replaced by Ty France.
ReplyDeleteActually, as I now understand it, Springer felt pain in his side.
DeleteWrobleski retires France and Lukes to start the top of the 7th. That brings up Guerrero, who is a serious threat to put Toronto in the lead. At this point, the Dodgers turn to former Nat Blake Treinen (2-7, 5.40 ERA in 32 appearances).
ReplyDeleteGuerrero promptly singles, which is probably the best outcome the Dodgers could have hoped for. Bichettte then lines a shot down into the right field corner. While it's bouncing around in the outfield, Guerrero races all the way home from first. Toronto has been smarter and quicker than the Dodgers all night. Blue Jays lead 5-4, and with Treinen out there, they have a chance to blow this game open.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to see how Treinen was better than Wrobleski in this situation.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, Guerrero scored from first on a two-out single, in part because the ball took a funny bounce in the outfield, and in part because Guerrero is an amazing athlete. Meanwhile, Freeman was thrown out at home and Teoscar Hernandez was thrown out at third.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what Andy Pages is trying to do at the plate. It looks as though his goal is to fly out to left.
ReplyDeleteThat time he flew out to right, so I suppose he succeeded.
ReplyDeleteOhtani's up next. The Blue Jays have a meeting on the mound with their new pitcher, Seranthony Dominguez (4-4, 3.16 ERA), to discuss how to pitch him. But the meeting is not successful, because OHTANI BLASTS A HOME RUN TO LEFT CENTER! The game is TIED again!
ReplyDeleteFox has a great shot of the fans sitting behind home plate. After Ohtani hit the ball, you could see a guy about my age saying, "You've got to be kidding me." I know exactly how he felt.
ReplyDeleteDominguez walks Freeman and Smith, so the Dodgers have runners on first and second with two out. Muncy gets a 3-1 count, but beats the next pitch on an easy ground ball to second to end the inning. Huge missed opportunity there. After seven: Los Angeles 5, Toronto 5.
ReplyDeleteThe Dodgers will now try Jack Dreyer (3-2, 2.95 ERA in 67 appearances) to pitch the 8th.
ReplyDeleteBarger hits a grounder to short, and reaches on an error when Freeman can't pick Betts's low throw. That's the second Dodger error in the game, not to mention the running errors. Straw goes in to run for Barger. Clement flies out to right, but Gimenez -- the number-nine batter -- singles to left. The Blue Jays have runners on first and second with one out.
ReplyDeleteSo Dreyer failed, and the Dodgers will now turn to Roki Sasaki, who has been their closer in the playoffs. Sasaki is pretty much their last line of defense -- I think he'll stay in until the game is won or lost.
ReplyDeleteFrance hits a grounder to third that should have been a double play, but Straw is in Muncy's way, so he has to throw to first. Two out with runners on second and third.
ReplyDeleteSasaki battles Lukes, and finally induces him to hit a chopper back to the mound. He grabs it, and in his joy almost races all the way to first before flipping to Freeman for the third out. After 7 1/2: Los Angeles 5, Toronto 5.
ReplyDeleteFor the 8th, the Blue Jays send out Chris Bassitt (11-9, 3.96 ERA in 31 starts). He mows down Teoscar Hernandez, Edman, and Kike Hernandez with no problem. After 8: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 5.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 9th, Guerrero flies out to left, but Kiner-Falefa (who pinch ran for Bichette) draws a walk. Varsho then rips a liner that bounces out of Freeman's glove into short right field. Kiner-Falefa tries to reach third, but Edman chased down the ball and throws Kiner-Falefa out at third. Two outs, Varsho on first, Kirk at the plate.
ReplyDeleteThis was a huge play by Edman, and a big mistake by Kiner-Falefa.
DeleteThat was an amazing play. Edman looked like he was casually sliding into second on what probably could've been a standup double, and his slide toward the ball was actually toward the right-field line--away from third base where he eventually had to make a perfect throw.
DeleteOf all the skills in any sport, it seems to me like the professionals have made their greatest improvement in throwing out runners from the outfield or across the infield. There have already been about 10 throws from the outfield in this series that would rank with the stuff that shows up in Roberto Clemente highlight reels. And it feels like there's a play every other inning of any baseball game played today that is right there with Graig Nettles in the 1978 World Series.
Sasaki walks Kirk to put runners on first and second. That brings up Straw, who hits a grounder to third. Muncy forces Kirk at second. After 8 1/2, the game is still tied at 5.
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Jays now go to their closer: Jeff Hoffman (9-7, 4.37 ERA in 71 appearances, 33 saves).
ReplyDeleteThis is the last half-inning I'm going to blog. I'm going home after this.
ReplyDeletePages pops up. The Blue Jays intentionally walk Ohtani to put the winning run on first. But then Ohtani is thrown out trying to steal second.
ReplyDeleteOhtani actually beat the throw, but his momentum caused him to bounce off the bag, and so he was tagged for the second out.
ReplyDeleteBetts pops up and we're going to extra innings. The Dodgers have just made too many mistakes to win this game.
ReplyDeleteThis is when we went to bed. My wife watched into the 15th or 16th. Then I woke up when she turned everything off, and, after a while, I gave up on going back to sleep and moved back out to the living room and turned on the game. Freddie Freeman was coming to the plate in the 18th inning when I got settled in to watch some more. Amazing game.
ReplyDelete