The Toronto Blue Jays came out swinging in Game 4 to even their World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-2 after a grinding 18-inning loss Monday night. Shane Bieber outpitched superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. showed up, and the rest of the Jays lineup compensated for clutch hitter George Springer’s absence. The Jays’ 6-2 win over the Dodgers Tuesday guarantees Toronto will play at least one more game at home after Game 5 in Los Angeles tonight. That means the World Series winner will be crowned at Rogers Centre on Friday, or potentially Saturday. According to the MLB, in any best-of-seven series tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has won the series 46 of 68 times. Rookie Trey Yesavage is expected to be on the mound for the Blue Jays on Wednesday, facing Blake Snell for a rematch of Game 1. Here’s what some U.S. media are saying about last night’s game: ‘Toronto, they’re in a good spot man’ Hall of Famer Derek Jeter pointed to the Blue Jays’ offence, which was forced to play without designated hitter George Springer on Tuesday after he left Game 3 with right side discomfort, as the reason for the win. “You can’t replace George Springer. He’s instant offence as soon as he steps in the box, first pitch of the game. But if he’s out and you need to replace him with someone, Bo Bichette is a good replacement,” Jeter told his fellow MLB on Fox co-panelists. Bichette, who was only added to the Jays’ World Series roster after missing the last few weeks of the regular season and both the ALDS and ALCS following a knee sprain, hit an RBI single to drive in Andres Gimenez that put the Jays up 5-1 in the seventh inning. Bichette finished the regular season tied for second in the major leagues with 181 hits over 139 games and a batting average of .311 with 18 homers and 94 RBIs. “It seems like he’s getting more and more comfortable. He’s having better at bats,” Jeter said. “Toronto, they’re in a good spot man. They’re in a good spot. They are confident. They know, regardless of what happens to them, they can still bounce back. They believe that even if no one else does.” ‘Dodgers hangover leads to giant headache’ There’s no question both teams were exhausted Tuesday night after playing in one of the longest World Series games in history less than 24 hours earlier. But as Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke writes: “While the Blue Jays literally bounced back, the Dodgers went psssssst.” “Less than a day after an exhausting six-and-a-half-hour, 18-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers curled up in the corner with a cold wash cloth while the Jays smothered them with it. “After four games of this World Series, the underdogs from up north are fresh, feisty and very much alive, having pulled into a two-game-apiece tie after a 6-2 victory in a slog of a Game 4,” he wrote. ‘The Blue Jays are really impressing me’: Bayless American sports commentator Skip Bayless, whose known for his hot takes, gave the Blue Jays their flowers in a tweet following Game 4. “The Toronto Blue Jays are really impressing me with their mental toughness,” he wrote. “To lose in 18 and come right back and beat Shohei? Even at 2-2, slight psychological advantage, Jays.” Bayless previously riled up some Jays fans when he posted his prediction before the Fall Classic began, congratulating the Toronto Blue Jays for “winning the right to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.” ‘You had to win tonight to have any chance’ The MLB Network broke down Game 4 on Tuesday night and analyst Yonder Alonso said Toronto had “no choice” but to win Game 4. “They had to play with urgency if they wanted to continue this series…this is what it was going to take. You had to win tonight to have any chance, right?” the former MLBer said. “I think Toronto has shown throughout the postseason, they’ve played with urgency. It doesn’t matter if they’re on the road, it doesn’t matter if they’re at home, you gotta win tonight and when they’ve done that in the postseason, where it’s a must win, they pretty much answer the bell.” Alonso’s co-panelist, two-time World Series champion Jake Peavy, struck a similar tone and said the Dodgers did not look like themselves after the marathon Game 3. “The Toronto team showed us that they’re resilient, as their manager John Schneider has told us time and time again, bouncing back yet again,” he said. “You could feel a malaise over the workout today. Guys getting in a little bit later than they normally would. Not a whole lot of action on the field. The Toronto team regrouped without George Springer and answered the bell in a big way. Dodgers did look a little hazy.” ‘You my dawg’: Big Papi shows Vladdy love Guerrero Jr. joined the MLB on Fox panel after the game and received a gift from his fellow countryman David Ortiz. “You my dawg. Matter of fact. I got a present for you, baby. I got a cigar. And I got one of ‘MY DAWG’ shirts for my boy right here,” Big Papi said, as he presented the slugger with a shirt emblazoned with picture of himself during his days with the Boston Red Sox. Guerrero was clutch in Game 4 and hit a go-ahead, two-run home run to put the Jays up 3-1 in the third inning. The 26-year-old Dominican-Canadian now has the most playoff home runs (seven) in Blue Jays history.
