Blue Jays vs. Dodgers World Series Game 4 Highlights (10/28/25) | MLB Highlights

The man of the hour has arrived. Shohei Otani, that's his protection. Mookie Betts, the Los Angeles Dodgers, just hours after winning a marathon against the Toronto Blue Jays. An 18-inning classic. Back at it to try to take a surging 3-1 series lead. So, enjoy the **** out of it, but we got a game later today, all right? Hey, we got a game later today. Record-breaking game, unlike anything we have ever seen. 19 total pitchers used. How are the Blue Jays and Dodgers gonna follow that up in game four? You know, last night was taxing on both clubs' pens, but it's kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation. You kind of figure out who's available and who feels good enough to pitch tonight. It's a World Series. Everyone's feeling good. They like these situations. You know, we've responded well in these situations. In terms of second wind, no, man. It's just wake up, get ready to do it again. How do you follow up reaching base nine times in a game? If your name's Shohei Otani, you do it by taking the ball as the starting pitcher. For the first time in the World Series, we get to watch Otani on the mound. Yeah, there is no way to top last night. Oh, wait, yes, there is. The greatest show on Earth, Shohei Otani. All season long, the Blue Jays have overcome obstacles. They led the majors in comeback victories. They rallied in the ALCS after losing the first two games at home, but tonight they face perhaps their greatest challenge. George Springer is out of the lineup after leaving last night's game with right side discomfort. Lova Shet will be the DH. The Blue Jays say Springer is day-to-day, but they are losing a player who has hit 23 career homers in the postseason on a night they are facing Shohei Otani. The odds are against them. Popped up down the left-field line. Quique Hernandez is over to the center. He makes the catch! Wow! Fresh off of last night's craziness, it's a highlight defensive play to start game four. Quique Hernandez reaching over the short wall and foul ground down the left-field line. A spectacular effort to get out number one. This is a matchup I wanted to see. These are two of the greatest stars in our game, and offensively, they have done a nice job and slowed down Guerrero. No extra base hits of the breaking balls. The slower breaking ball is the only pitch that's going to give Guerrero fits. Otani gets him on three pitches. I know a lot of people think and thought, probably still believe I'm crazy, but this is where he's the most comfortable, is on the mound. The payoff, but Shet now takes ball four, and the Jays have their first base runner, and that's what they're going to have to do. They're going to have to really battle a guy who can throw a lot of pitches in the strike zone and pick and choose their moments to make him work as hard as possible. But the Blue Jays working deep counts against him. The Shet threw the walk, and we'll get a head start here with a three-two to Barger. Here it comes, a shot left side. Marci able to get there and keeps it in the infield, but it's a hit for Barger, and it's a chance for the Jays in the first. Just so many moments that felt like they could be the moment that kept on getting topped and topped again and topped by an even bigger one. Kirk had one of those early moments. Pops it up on the infield. Freddie Freeman at first. He reaches back and makes the catch. So back-to-back two-out base runners stranded by Ohtani, a scoreless top of the first, and now he'll start his regiment to get ready for the bottom half. They're bringing the equipment out to the top rail on the warning track. Ohtani last night on base all nine times. His last two home games. He's been up 13 times. He's reached base 13 times. Seven out of seven with five home runs his last two games at Dodger Stadium. Shane Bieber, 30 years old out of Laguna Beach, California. Ohtani checks his swing on a pitch on the outside corner, and I think that might have been a make-up call because that had the edge, and Bieber was walking around like he was going to be a K. Instead, a lead-off walk. Two down, and at least you get not as quick of a runner at first base now. I love the fact that Shohei Ohtani slid in the first inning. So for the next five or six innings or so, Shohei Ohtani will be pitching with dirt all over his pants. You never see that unless it's Shohei Ohtani. Blue Jays stranded two. Dodgers have Freeman at first with two out, and this one-one to Will Smith. Hit well right center. Barger curling back toward the track, slows up, makes the catch on a well-struck fly out to end the inning. No runs, no hits. One, two, three. The Blue Jays are sent down on just seven pitches from Ohtani. Gosh, he has got an extra step here to start game four. He came off the mound in a flash to record that tapper back to him, and he gets through the second inning in quick order. Dodgers trying to solve Shane Bieber in this game, the native of Laguna Beach, who spent six seasons in Cleveland. Won a Cy Young in 2020. Mentioned the Tommy John surgery that he had early on last year. Gets traded to the Blue Jays in July. Continues to finish off his rehab. Comes back and was way better than you would ever envision a guy would be after missing that much time. In the championship series, he won game three, dominated in Seattle with eight strikeouts over six innings, but then in game seven, he was out of there with two outs in the fourth. One of the things in last night's game that was amazing was these bullpens. As once he takes the one-out walk. Two bullpens that were the sore spots for the Clarks combined to throw 26 innings and keep it going deep into the night. Well, for Tommy Edmund defensively, the first game last night, he had a key error that sparked the Blue Jays' four-run inning. But the second game, he made some unbelievable plays. Waits on this, two-one from Bieber. Edmund, up the middle, bases in the field. Muncy running the bases hard. Varshall's arm is not good. First and third run. Biggest part of the field on the infield is up the middle. And that's exactly where he went. Gets on top of the ball, hits it right back up the middle. Easy first to third situation. And now we got our first-run scoring opportunity for the Dodgers. And Bieber's gonna try to induce a ground ball here. Really, really trying to get a ground ball to shortstop. Quique Hernandez coming to the plate. Another one of the themes of last night's game. Neither team good with runners in scoring position. They combined to go four for 26. I would say, if he wanted to go for the punch-out now, you go inside and up, or inside off the plate, get him to be able to swing and miss. Now you go for the strikeout after all those breaking balls, if Bieber goes to the fastball. Walking a single, have him at the corners. Another two-two from Bieber. It is a fastball, and it's looked at the deep right field. Barger goes back on it. Steps out of the running track plenty deep enough to bring home the game's first run. The reason I didn't like that away is it's too easy to lift the ball away for that sack fly. You've gotta be so good inside to be able to do that as a hitter and pull your hands in. That pitch actually did him a favor to get that fly ball. It'll be Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Nathan Lucas, and Vlad Guerrero Jr. Again, no George Springer in the starting lineup. Otani's one-two to Kiner-Falefa. A fastball, punched to second. Tommy Edmund to the first and to the third. Back to the top of the order, Nathan Lucas comes up, and he'll definitely go down to Tom Berducci. Yeah, Shohei Otani left the ballpark last night at 10 after midnight. Now, as you mentioned, Joe, he loves his sleep. I'm not sure how much sleep he got in after last night, but it's interesting. I asked Dave Roberts about any hesitation about having him be a two-way player tonight. He had his lineup made up even before Shohei arrived. He said it was never a doubt that he was going to D.H. and pitch tonight. Lucas rips a base hit into right field. Over the cover to Fernandez. He holds Lucas to a single. There's not much movement with that four-seam fastball. Throws it about 40% of the time. You have to be ready for it a lot like Nathan Lucas was right there. Otani would not show Guerrero that fastball much the first time he faced him today. Now, Guerrero's second look at him tonight. Otani struck him out on three pitches in the first. There's a fly ball to deep left-center field. Headed back there. It is gone! Vlad Jr. gives the Jays the lead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lines one into the seats in left-center, and the Blue Jays take the lead. His seventh postseason home run, and that is a new Blue Jays franchise record. He broke the tie with Joe Carter and Jose Bautista, and the Blue Jays need a big night from Vlade Guerrero Jr. Off to a good start. That's only the fourth home run Otani has given up this season, regular season and postseason. I'll tell you, this guy's amazing, and he's ready for everything. I mean, this is the first mistake that Otani has made, and he didn't get it back. The ball is trapped on the left side of the field. On the field, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vladimir sees beach balls everywhere. Out of the hands of Otani. A ball in the middle, suspended, and Vladimir didn't miss it. This breaking ball is up, barrel of the bat out in front, and I said, if a spinner is in the zone, it's a recipe for a lost home run. All you gotta do is backspin it as a hitter and get that barrel to the ball, and the ball just takes off. After Vlad Jr. goes deep against him, he leads off on a two-two from Bieber. He fouls it into the glove. Bieber made his best change-up of the night to strike him out. Change-up, acting like a screwball away from the outside part of the plate, and again, we talked about it all night last night. Nobody made those pitches against him. This is the part of the game that you gotta watch for that fatigue and the adrenaline running off. Breaking pitch gets him swinging, but it was over the plate. Yeah, he has the stuff to get through this lineup. Don't get me wrong, but this is the part where you get the adrenaline is gone, and you're now working off of all the training you put in, all the effort to dominate on the mound. He's gonna have to work really, really hard mentally on location from this point on. Foul it into the glove, but that's back-to-back strikeouts where he didn't put it where he wanted it. No, the fastball is just a little bit running on him. He's cutting a couple and missing a couple up, but his ability to spin the baseball, again, such a weapon for him. On a three-two count, a hitter can't just confine to and commit to one particular pitch. Another two-two. Strikes out the side in the fourth. What a fastball by him as Otani strikes out the side in the fourth inning. Kirk, Farshel, and Clement all have their tickets punched. Shohei goes back to work after he struck out the side last inning. Strikes out Jimenez with a back-foot slider. Four consecutive K's. In the air to left center field, routine for Quique Hernandez. Two up and two down in the fifth. Base hit the other way from Lucas. Into the leadoff spot was Springer out. Moves up one spot in the order, and he's got two hits in this game, doubled in his total from the first three. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. up after his two-run homer in the third. It is a fastball right over the middle. Smoked to center by the Pajeros. We're halfway home in game four. Shane Bieber giving the Blue Jays what they need the night after the bullpen carried such a huge load on both sides. Dodgers tied it with a home run from Otani last night in the seventh. But there's the time run in the fifth. Strike three. Sword from John Tompain, the home plate umpire. Second time that Bieber has struck out his pitching counterpart. In the air to center field, Varsho is there. And on one pitch, Bieber's not gonna let him find much out. Last night, the Dodger bullpen covered 13 and a third. The Blue Jays' bullpen covered 12 and two thirds. These starters with pressure on them to go deep, and we got a pitcher's duel developing. Two-one to the sixth. In the air to left field, Quique Hernandez. Drifting back in to get the shot. Blue Jays trying to tie this series up. If they can win one of these two games where they are not favored when it comes to the starting pitcher, Otani picks this one off and shovels the first. Two out. Oh, even a miss. Strike three. Strikeout number six. Ends inning number six. Shohei Otani keeping the Dodgers in game four. Well, we all marveled at Shohei Otani. The Blue Jays are sitting over there with that smile that Vlad Guerrero gave us as we went to break, saying, hey, war is won. Here's his one-two pitch to Freeman. Breaking ball. Pulled past Guerrero. Sneaks out of his glove into right field. A leadoff single for Freddie Freeman. His second hit of the ballgame. Two out of the three the Dodgers have. And it's another two-strike knock for L.A. Yeah, tough play there. Tried to get a short hop. We've watched Guerrero make every single play imaginable at first base. This one hit too hard, and at least only a single. Line drive center field. Varsho makes the catch. The goal glover in center field, Dalton Varsho, takes a hit away from Will Smith. And that might be it for Beaver. Instead of allowing him to face D'Oscar Hernandez, here comes John Schneider. And a conversation here at first. Maybe not. John says that he's told his starters, if he runs out there, they have a chance to talk their way into staying in the game. If he's walking, you're done. John was walking, but Shane still talked his way into staying in. That's a line drive base hit center field. D'Oscar Hernandez scorches one into center. Tied one into scoring position. Well, almost off the plate where he wanted it. And we talked about Hernandez, how he's staying on the ball a lot better here in the last two days. And that's the shortest two quick trips you're going to see a manager make. One pitch later, the Dodgers have Shane Beaver out of the ball game and have the Blue Jays bullpen forced into duty first. And Mason Flewharty is coming on to deal with the left hand hitting Max Muncy. Shane Beaver has given this team a chance to win. Tied one at second. Go ahead, run at first. Muncy sends a fly ball to center field that Dalton Varsho has spotted. And on one pitch, he gets out number two. Now it'll be the switch hitting second baseman Tommy Edmund. Swing and a miss, strike three. Got him on a back foot sweeper. Flewharty comes in, gets the first pitch, fly out, and a three pitch strikeout to end the threat. On to the seventh, we go. Dalton Varsho bangs the first pitch that Ohtani throws into right field, starting the seventh with a single. Blue Jays lead this game two to one on a home run from Black, Jr. back in the third. Dodgers just one run of support on four hits for Ohtani, who tries to get it out in the seventh inning for the first time as a Dodger and for the first time since July of 2023. Muncy trying to extend a nine game hitting streak. A lot of time to extend it last night. Cranks his ball to left center field. That's headed for the gap. That's headed for the wall. Varsho rounds third and stops on a double from Clement. Screamer of a line drive, puts him at second and third. This is the point in the game I was talking about where your stop and location has to be really, really good because you lose the extension and late life on your pitches. So location, the later you go, is way more important. And that's gonna be it for Ohtani. Still a remarkable job to go into the seventh inning after 18 innings of baseball last night. Strikes out six, walks just one. Blue Jays with at least two runs on six hits. Anthony Bonda's ready to go in that bullpen. Ohtani leaves to a good hand. Down to one is Bonda and the Dodger pen takes over. Bonda faced just one hitter yesterday. Finished off Tyler Glasnow's last inning. And started that marathon of relievers. Dodger infield drawn in. The Blue Jays already up two wide, but they gotta add. It's really tough to cling to a one-run lead against the Dodgers. Well, this is when you shorten up and you're just trying to get the barrel to the baseball. And not only has he put up a big fight, he's shown a lot of pitches to IKF. Behind him, seven offered already by Bonda. This is his first batter faced. Big part of the Blue Jays' offense has been the bottom of the order contributing through this postseason. Bonda's eighth pitch, Chimenez. Comes through with a base hit to left center field. Varsha's in the score and it's three to one. Andre Chimenez battling with two strikes. That was more like Blue Jays baseball that you've been seeing throughout the playoffs. Runners in scoring position, they have been stingy. This is literally put the bat on the ball and see what happens. The more pitches you see, the more comfortable you become with that slider, with that fastball. And he got the off-speed pitch over the heart of the plate. Counter for left foot, scorcher to third. Muncy to third, double play. Wow, that is something you can't do, though, at first base. Does his hand get in there under his? I'm not so sure it does. Shoot. Muncy with a quick trigger to get it over there to first. Again, the call on the field is that he's out, so do they see enough in New York to overturn this call? After review, the call on the field, it's overturned, the runner is safe. That is huge for the Toronto Blue Jays. Mark Pryor's coming out for a visit with Anthony Bonda because John Schneider has dipped into his bench right here. He sends up Ty France to pinch hit for Nathan Lucas. Same aggressive personality that he managed last night's game with. France pinch hitting here in the seventh for a guy who was two for three tonight. It was high, he let it fly. Bouncer right side. That only plays as first to run comes to the back door. And right away, that overturn call looms large as Clement comes in to score in an RBI and a pinch hit ground out from Ty France. And that's gonna do it for Anthony Bonda. Those two runs are charged to Shohei Otani, but Bonda, after they put Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on intentionally, unable to pick up where the bullpen left off last night with the heroic relief for four to one. Trinan's on for Bichette, and he was one of the trusted arms in last season's championship. He struggled mightily this October. There's another shot to deep right. Over the head of Hernandez and against the wall. Bichette hangs on with a long single, and it's five to one, Blue Jays. Wall ball RBI single Bo Bichette. Five one Blue Jays in the seventh. He tagged it out to left. Like I said, he's slowly starting to look like Bo Bichette. That dugout is very excited right now. What a swing from him. And again, that's an important run. Yes, Andres Jimenez scoring the fifth run of the ball game is very important. If you're Addison Barger, you have to go to work because there's another important ball, an important run standing out at third base in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Ground ball outside. Past Mookie Benson at six one. A fourth spot for the Jays in the seventh. Dodgers are in business now, but again, those two runs out there standing at second and third with nobody out are essentially meaningless. And I'm sure Pete Walker is walking out to tell him that right now. To do that and maybe to buy some time for Jeff Hoffman who just got up and throwing in the Blue Jay pad. He pitched two innings yesterday. I imagine they were trying to avoid using him and maybe felt like a fresher Varlund would be in a better spot here. Edmond shoots at the third on the ground. Clement has it. Teoscar Hernandez will score the throw. The first is in time to get Edmond by a step. It's now six to two. Muncy remains on second base. But there's only two outs left. Swing and a miss, strike three. Doubled up on it and punched him out on a curve. It was in the dirt, but Hernandez screaming walks back to the third base dugout rather than run down to first two down. So it's six two Blue Jays now. Two outs, bottom of the ninth to game four. Muncy on second and Alex Call up. Booming on deck is Shohei Otani. Call hits it in the air out to left. Strong going back, makes the grab. The Blue Jays tie the series. One night after heartbreak, they beat the Dodgers six to two. And it is a best of three now for the World Series. What a ball game from the Toronto Blue Jays on both sides of the ball.