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The Blue Jays are looking to even the 2025 World Series tonight after the Dodgers' epic Game 3 win across 18 innings last night.
Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for Los Angeles, making his first career World Series start, opposite Shane Bieber for Toronto.
George Springer is on Toronto's bench after leaving last night's game due to side tightness.
Follow below for news, updates and analysis from The Athletic’s MLB reporters on the ground at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers SS Mookie Betts
Historically, Betts has struggled against Jays starter Shane Bieber, going 1-for-9 with a homer. But that’s not the focus for Game 4. It appears Toronto will continue to walk Shohei Ohtani to face Betts, which is not a sentence I thought I’d ever write, and not a situation the former MVP Betts has likely considered, either. At some point, Betts will make the Blue Jays pay. Since the NLDS began, Betts is batting .170 (8-for-47). He doesn’t look right at the plate. But having the guy in front of you intentionally walked all night has a way of waking you up.
Blue Jays 2B Bo Bichette
It’s a shame that the Jays hitter with the best head-to-head stats against Ohtani — George Springer, 7-for-15 with two homers — is hurt. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has taken Ohtani deep, too, but here let’s go with Bichette, who has swung the bat really well since returning from the injured list for this series. In our Game 3 live coverage, Rockies infielder Kyle Farmer predicted Bichette would knock two base hits through the 4-hole. Bichette singled to shallow center, singled past first base and bounced one to second that Tommy Edman couldn’t handle. That’s the sort of pressure a contact hitter with an opposite-field approach can apply to a defense.
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Loud applause inside Rogers Centre for Deborah Cox, the Toronto singer-songwriter, who sang the Canadian national anthem tonight ahead of Game 4. The fans here are ready for a watch party.
Singer-songwriter Tinashe gets national anthem duties for Game 4 at Dodger Stadium, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" after Deborah Cox's stirring rendition of "O Canada". Tinashe takes over U.S. national anthem duties for Game 3 singer Brad Paisley, which is good news for those hoping to get to bed a bit earlier tonight. Paisley, the country musician and rabid Dodgers fan, has now sung the national anthem before four different World Series games that have all gone to extra innings. That list includes the two longest games in World Series history — the 18-inning classics in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, and of course, last night.
Orel Hershiser will throw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 tonight. And while it's accepted fact now that Shohei Ohtani's performance in the NLCS clincher is the greatest single game of all time (three home runs, 6 innings with 10 strikeouts), let's not forget what Hershiser did in Game 2 of the 1988 World Series. That night, Hershiser twirled a shutout against the A's while also going 3 for 3 at the plate. It was part of the greatest extended run of dominance in the history of pitching: a record streak of 67 consecutive scoreless innings (59 in the regular season, then the first eight of the NLCS against the Mets), followed by MVPs in the NLCS and the World Series.
💬 Manuel S.: Either Blue Jays bounce back with a vengeance or this series is effectively over. There’s no in-between. You don’t go 18 innings and lose without losing something more than just the game, whether that something is emotional or physical. And Yamamoto is rested, to boot. The Jays need to search deep to win this one.
💬 Born D.: Hoping the Jays can get to Ohtani tonight and that George Springer, whose absence was critical time and again in Game 3, can at least be available to pinch hit. Jays need their own "Gibson moment," after proving to LA they're not pushovers.
💬 Christopher H.: That game last night was crazy. I felt like I was in a twilight zone it had gone on so long. How do you even follow that one up today? I can’t believe they’re playing again so soon. That was a heavyweight battle.
Don't forget to share your thoughts and predictions with us by emailing live@theathletic.com.
Magic Johnson, part owner of the Dodgers, took to the FOX pregame set with a raspy voice he attributed to last night’s 18-inning marathon.
Johnson called Shohei Ohtani “a generational talent. We see Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, he’s in that rare air. He’s doing things we’ve never seen before.”
Johnson compared Ohtani’s influence in LA to what Kobe Bryant did during his heyday with the Lakers. “He’s a great young man and he’s serious about becoming the best baseball player that ever lived.”
“He’s the hardest working person not only on the Dodgers team, but maybe in baseball,” Johnson said.
“(Ohtani) came here to win,” Johnson said. “He had been losing all those years with the Angels. He wanted to win and play in the World Series and he’s been able to do that and do it quite well. Thank God for guys like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Dave Roberts our manager, because they taught him how to win and took the pressure off of him. We all need that. When I came in as a rookie, Kareem (Abdul-Jabar) took the pressure off me.”
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Thought the merchandise line wouldn’t be long when the Blue Jays are on the road?
Well think again. This is the lengthy line for the Blue Jays shop inside Rogers Centre before the Game 4 watch party starts. Toronto fans are eager to get their postseason souvenirs and apparel.
Life comes at you quick sometimes, even when you're Shohei Ohtani...
Since the Dodgers are coming off yet another walk-off World Series homer, let's revisit Kirk Gibson's famous blast in 1988. You probably remember that Dennis Eckersley was the pitcher, but can you name the Dodgers hitter who drew a walk to bring Gibson to the plate? And who was the catcher for the A's?
Hints: The hitter had previously played for the A's, and the catcher would be behind the plate for Dennis Martinez's perfect game at Dodger Stadium three years later.
Send your guesses to live@theathletic.com and we'll feature any correct responses here!
There’s an excitement on the Rogers Centre concourse as the start of Game 4 approaches. Fans are grabbing food and beverages before heading to their seats for the start of the game.
It feels like a home Blue Jays game, except there won't actually be baseball happening on the field.
Last night over 28,000 attended the Game 3 watch party that went into the early hours of the morning. It will be interesting how many show up tonight.
Q: The Dodgers have managed to not let Vladimir Guerrero Jr. beat them, in part by not letting him hit with anyone on. But he’s still batting .414 (1.269 OPS) this postseason. What is it about Vlady’s approach and skillset that make him such a difficult out?
Like a lot of elite hitters, Vladdy is willing to hit the ball to opposite field as well as anyone. Taking fastballs the other way and pulling off-speed pitches is just such a tough combination for a pitcher to try to attack. You’re sort of in between in the sense of “I can’t really beat this guy with a fastball, but he’s not out in front of any spin or changeup.” He doesn’t chase, either. A guy with elite power and hit tools who stays in the strike zone — it’s no wonder why he’s one of the game’s best.
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Q: Tommy Edman, your former college teammate, had a crucial bounce-back effort last night after an early error. What was it like having a front-row seat to Tommy’s development back then at Stanford, as he was on the cusp of pro ball?
Tommy can do it all on the field. He played middle infield in college, but you could tell he had the athleticism and IQ to be a super-utility guy and play all over the diamond. He ran really well, and he could cover the entire plate and hit the ball anywhere during his at-bats. It was tough to pitch against him in the fall because of that. It doesn’t surprise me to see the impact he’s had on the Dodgers, as he’s a perfect example of a guy who never lets the moment get too big and can handle anything.
Q: The Blue Jays seem willing to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani with abandon. But let’s say they *do* try to pitch to him. What’s the approach against a lefty power hitter like that? Any zones where he’s especially vulnerable, if you can execute there?
He’s been on fire, and I don’t blame anyone for putting him on. But the one area that stuck out when I faced him in late June was same-side changeups. Same-side changeups are tough to execute because your margin for error is much smaller than it is to the opposite hand, but they can be such a weapon if you have the confidence to throw it (see Cristopher Sanchez in the NLDS). I tried a similar approach in 2021 the first time I faced Ohtani, but let’s just say I ended up on his highlight reel that year.
There was some swing-and-miss in each of the spots you would expect (fastballs up, spin away, changeups down/in), but he’s one of the best in the game. Even when you feel like you make your pitch, he can still do damage without getting his “A” swing off.
Tonight, 2025 All-Star Kris Bubic is joining our live coverage for Game 4. The 28-year-old from Cupertino, Cali. is coming off the best season of his six-year career, being named an All-Star for the first time while sporting an 8-7 record with a 2.55 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 20 starts.
Our questions for the Royals left-hander, and his answers, are coming up next.
I gotta tell you: Everyone I've spoken to today seems pretty exhausted after last night.
But one person I have not spoken with is Shohei Ohtani.
He will be the main attraction this evening. It's his first start as a pitcher since his preposterous Game 4 performance in the NLCS.
This is perhaps related to the previous key to victory, but as Eno Sarris told us earlier today, Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber has shown really good stuff in his return from Tommy John surgery. His velocity is up, and he’s using a new changeup with loads of movement. What he hasn’t done, though, is throw more than 98 pitches since returning from surgery, and he hasn’t thrown more than 88 in the postseason. If the Dodgers can wear down Bieber before the Blue Jays can wear down Ohtani, Los Angeles could win this game and put themselves in a position to clinch the World Series in Game 5.
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Neither team has a bullpen in great shape tonight, but the Blue Jays had their closer and top two right-handed setup men each throw 20-plus pitches last night. So, in a late-inning situation, there’s a good chance the Dodgers will face either a fatigued arm or a second-string arm. Could they flip the vulnerable bullpen narrative and make the Blue Jays look like the ones who are short-handed?
There is one potential downside to having a starting pitcher who can do it all. The downside is, he does it all. Game 4 starter Shohei Ohtani was on base nine times last night as the leadoff hitter and DH. Granted, two of those were light jogs around the bases, but he still did a lot of running for a guy about to pitch his most important game of the year. And with their bullpen taxed, the Dodgers would sure like to see Ohtani not only pitch well, but pitch deep. Is he a little worn out, or is he truly superhuman?
Presenting…the Blue Jays home run horn being blasted for fans still outside Rogers Centre!
For hockey fans reading this, it sounds similar to the goal horn of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
An energetic atmosphere here following the 18-inning classic Game 3 less than 24 hours ago.