Dodgers Recap: Throw, Canada! Dodgers force Game Seven with a Kiké miracle!

TORONTO — This game made Dave Roberts look like a genius. Before the game, he made two key moves. He moved Mookie Betts into the cleanup spot, and put Miguel Rojas in at second base. And guess what? Betts delivered a two-run single in the third to give the Dodgers the margin of victory, and Rojas made a fantastic play on the tail end of an outfield throw from Kiké Hernández to turn an game-ending (and season-saving) double play. Toss in a great start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a couple of canny bullpen moves, and it added up to a 3-1 win for the Dodgers. This is not a drill. We have ourselves a Game Seven in the Six. Wooboy!

For the first two innings, it looked like the Dodger offense was in the same old doldrum. Jays starter Kevin Gausman had the LA hitters absolutely disombobulated. Out of the first six batters, Gausman struck out five and got a ground out from Mookie Betts (now hitting fourth in the revamped lineup).

Finally, in the top of the third, the Dodgers broke through. It all started with Tommy Edman, who ripped a one-out double into the right field corner for the first LA hit of the game. After Miguel Rojas struck out, John Schneider pulled out the old “Let’s walk Ohtani, nobody else is hitting” trick. But this time, it blew up in his face. Will Smith, newly installed in the two hole, stepped up to the dish and drilled a Gausman pitch into the left field corner for a run-scoring double. Edman scampered home and Ohtani stopped at third. A walk to Freddie Freeman loaded up the bases for, guess who?, Mookie Betts.

And this time, Betts came through. In what had to fell fantastic for everyone in the visitors’ dugout, Betts finally caught up to a Gausman fastball, lining it through the left side for a solid single. Shohei crossed the plate easily and when Will Smith slid into home, it was 3-0 Dodgers. Yes! Hell Yes, Mookie!

Meanwhile, Yamamoto was cruising as well. He too put up zeroes in the early innings, helped by a couple of double plays along the way. However, in the bottom of the fourth, he gave up his first run to the Jays in 12 innings. Addison Barger hit a double, moved to third on a one-out ground ball, and then scored when Yamamoto fell behind George Springer and gave up an RBI single to right center.

Then, in the sixth, he ran into a little trouble with a double from Vladdy Jr. and a walk to Bo Bichette that put runners at first and second with one out, but he dug deep, and with his last pitch of the ballgame, got Daulton Varsho to ground out to end the inning, and his night. The final line for Yamamoto in this heroic performance: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K.

Justin Wrobleski came into the game in the seventh, facing the left-handed hitting heavy back half of the lineup. He gave up a two-out double, but then dug deep and struck out Andres Gimenez for the biggest out of his career. On to the eighth…

Shohei Ohtani vs Mason Fluharty. Sound familiar? Part three of this little drama played out with one out in the eighth. Ohtani made a ridiculous swing a low-and-away pitch, flicked his wrists, and hit a double off the wall in the left centerfield gap. It was insane. Will Smith was intentionally walked to set up a lefty-lefty matchup with Freddie Freeman. The move worked temporarily, as Freeman flew to right for the second out. But when new reliever Seranthony Dominguez walked Mookie Betts to load the bases, the Dodgers had the best opportunity to score since the third. But it wasn’t to be. The free-swinging Teoscar Hernandez whiffed on a pitch outside the zone, and that was it for the Dodgers in the eighth.

Enter Roki Sasaki to take on the top of the Jays order in the bottom of the eighth. He should have struck George Springer out, but got robbed on a call, and Springer ended up taking an emergency swing that sneaked past a diving George Springer. A flyout to Tommy Edman was the first out of the inning, but then Vladdy Jr., who also should have been struck out, drew a walk to put men and first and second. That brought up Bo Bichette again. But Roki got a high popout in foul ground that just stayed in the field of play for Mookie Betts for out number two. That brought up the power-hitting Daulton Varsho. Sasaki fell behind 2-1, but threw a splitter that got Varsho to roll over on, and he pushed a groundball to Miguel Rojas for the final out of the inning. Whew!

After a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, Sasaki hit the mound, looking to secure three outs and force a climactic Game 7. To do the job, he’d have to navigate through the back half of the lineup. The inning didn’t get off to a great start. On an 0-2 pitch, Sasaki lost the touch on a splitter and plunked Alejandro Kirk on the hand. With Myles Straw into run, Addison Barger stepped in a drilled a pitch over center fielder Justin Dean‘s head for a double. Luckily, the ball lodged under the padding in the outfield, making it a dead ball and ground rule double. That forced the speedy Straw to stop at third. That was the end of Roki’s night.

So heck, let’s bring the Game 7 starter to finish this one, shall we? Bring in Tyler Glasnow!

As the lanky righty strode to the mound, things looked pretty grim. Joe Davis was rhapsodizing about Joe Carter and 1993. Paul Molitor and Jack Morris joined a stadium full of Canucks and whooped it up, sensing blood in the water. Ernie Clement stepped in, and the Jays’ free-swinging ways caught up to them. Clement chased a fastball out of the zone and popped weakly to Freddie Freeman on the very first pitch. That brought the nine-hole hitter Andres Gimenez to the plate, with villain George Springer stepping into the on-deck circle.

And here comes a play that folks are going to talk about for years. Because the tying run was a second, the outfield was playing relatively shallow for the light-hitting Gimenez. He took a ball from Glasnow on the first pitch, but then all hell broke loose. Gimenez hit a looping liner to left that under most situations would be a sure single. However, Kiké Hernández charged hard, caught the ball on the fly, and gunned a one-hop strike to Miguel Rojas at second to double up Barger. That was it. Two outs on three pitches!

Insane. But in a game that saw an 18-inning walkoff and the first complete game in over a decade, we should expect nothing less. The Dodgers live to fight another day, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday. Yessir!

Who knows what the Dodgers will do for pitching. One would think Glasnow has plenty in him after only three pitches in this one. But that is for another day to worry about. For now, we’ve got ourselves a Game 7, and got it in the unlikeliest of ways.

Bring it on!

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