LOS ANGELES — He cannot be stopped, but he must be.
Shohei Ohtani has taken over the World Series. He is everything and he is everywhere.
He doubled, then he homered. He doubled again, then he homered again. The Blue Jays†only option was to duck for cover, close their eyes and cover their ears. By the time Ohtani walked up to the dish for his fourth consecutive intentional walk in the 15th, the umpire was already looking into the Blue Jays†dugout, waiting for John Schneiderâ€s four fingers. Ohtani reached base nine times in Torontoâ€s 6-5, walk-off loss in Game 3, a postseason record.
Coming into the World Series, the Blue Jays needed an answer for Ohtani. He cannot be silenced, only survived. The Blue Jays just keep throwing ideas at the wall and relievers at Ohtani, but he keeps winning. Heâ€s a talent so transcendent that the very threat of him seeps into the innings where he doesnâ€t touch a bat. Heâ€s seven hitters away … five away … three away …
Want to walk him? Say hello to Mookie Betts and big Freddie Freeman, the man who launched the walk-off shot to straightaway center field just before midnight local time. Itâ€s like dodging a bullet to get hit by a bus.
“It’s not the easiest thing in the world to just walk him and face Mookie and Freddie,†Schneider said. “So every situation is different. You got to really execute at a high level against him. I think the first couple games we did. I know he hit the homer off [Braydon Fisher] in Game 1, but I think that we executed pretty well minus today, and he’s a great player and took some really good swings today.â€
Itâ€s the Barry Bonds dilemma. Itâ€s the Aaron Judge dilemma. How can the Blue Jays survive Ohtani? How can they muffle his impact on every corner of the game?
“I get it,†said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He’s the best player on the planet, he was on the heels of a huge offensive night and John smelled that. He wasn’t going to let Shohei beat him at all, obviously, and even when nobody was on base, [he was] putting him on to make the other guys beat him.â€
The Blue Jays†first move has been Mason Fluharty, the funky lefty who is a “good matchup†for Ohtani, as much as you can stretch those words. If youâ€re going to attack Ohtani with a lefty, your best bet is a lefty with a lower arm slot, creating more cross-body action moving away from Ohtani in the box.
But what happens when your first move doesnâ€t work? In Game 1, Fluharty jogged in from the bullpen and froze Ohtani. This time, though, Ohtani shot an RBI double into the left-center gap. This man is many things, but rarely is he an opposite-field hitter. That was his first opposite-field hit since Sept. 20, a home run against the Giants.
Just when you think youâ€ve seen it all from Ohtani, he changes colors again, the chameleon who can be anyone and do anything. Down in the bullpen, Brendon Little was watching, knowing that as one of the other lefties, the phone could ring for him eventually. In the 17th it did, and Little walked Ohtani on four straight pitches.
“When he showed that tonight, it really made us adjust our game plan,†Little said. “Going into that situation, I didnâ€t want to give him anything that he could drive.â€
What do the Blue Jays do now? Heck, this guy is even pitching in Game 4. For the first time in the history of the sport, we will ask ourselves, “Is tonightâ€s starting pitcher tired from reaching base nine times last night?â€
Thereâ€s something to the idea of limiting how many times in a row a hitter sees an opposing reliever. Ohtani has seen Fluharty twice now and Little once. The only other lefty, Eric Lauer, gave the Blue Jays 4 2/3 spectacular, scoreless innings, but that surely means heâ€s unavailable in Game 4. Is it time for a righty like Louis Varland? What about an aggressive, early move with closer Jeff Hoffman?
Thereâ€s one guaranteed way to make it out alive: holding up four fingers. If the bases are empty, itâ€s a no-brainer, even with Betts batting behind him.
This will decide the Series, though. The Blue Jays needed an answer in Game 1, but go into Game 4 without one. The Series still orbits around Ohtani. So, once again, Schneider was asked if those four fingers are what we should expect now?
Schneider paused, sitting at the podium after 18 innings, dozens of missed opportunities and a crushing loss.
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