I was watching the Fox broadcast tonight, and somewhere around the sixth inning, Joe and John were talking about how, as evenly matched as this World Series was, there were definite categories where one team was better than the other. Dodgers had the better rotation, Jays had the better defense, Dodgers had the better contact, Jays had the better power, etc etc. And the one area that Joe Davis mentioned might be a contentious point was the bullpen, they said Toronto barely edged out LA with a better 'pen. They acted like it was close. They did mention, 'well the Dodgers really haven't been in position to USE theirs cause all their starters have gone long and they've put in other starters in relief'.
Anyway, right after that Blake Snell got taken out and the Jays scored 9 runs in the 6th.
It really is that simple, as we all thought it would be. It can be the Shohei Ohtani show and the story of the Dodgers rotation, and that's all well and good for six or seven innings, but once you have to put in Emmett Sheehan, Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda, then the head start evaporates. That sixth inning shows you everything you need to know about where the Jays have the edge, cause they can put in Mason Fluharty or Braydon Fisher or Louie Varland and it'll go fine, and the Dodgers...don't have that kind of luck. Tonight, they loaded the bases, walked a runner home, singled two runners home, grand slammed four home and homered two home. In one inning. Anthony Banda is going up against Addison Barger, one of the hardest hitting guys on the team, and what d'you think is gonna happen? It's Anthony Banda against the power part of the power lineup. And yes, the next inning they give up a homer to Ohtani, but...it's 11 to 4. Yay, Ohtani did something, but it's gonna take more than that.
I dunno if Blake Snell just has this luck, that no matter how much he can do in a World Series start, it'll never be enough because even with 100 pitches he still had to come out and the Dodgers' pen had to mop things up. And they did a terrible job. The Barger homer was the icing on the cake, and then the Alejandro Kirk homer was fondant! This was the thing you knew could happen, in a game with a ferocious home crowd, and you still let it happen. The Dodgers may be the Dodgers, but they still have a flawed team this year. They can't just use Ohtani for everything and expect that to get them an easy ring.
The Jays worked a clinic tonight. Trey Yesavage was excellent, even among outstanding pressure. Guerrero and Bichette had crucial contact moments. Barger and Lukes cemented themselves as huge parts of this team. Even IKF and Schneider had nice moments. This was what they needed to do to get the leverage early, and they should be super proud. I dunno if every game is gonna be this easy, or will be as easy as just hitting the known puncture point over and over like tonight. All I know is the Jays made a statement tonight. They're not gonna keel over like the Brewers and Phillies did. They're gonna be a challenge.
Remember...this was just the game where Addison Barger had the big power moment. Vlad Jr. hasn't really woken up yet.
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