Win Game 5, win the World Series

Los Angeles, CA (News 4 Us Online) – It turns out that the 18-inning marathon the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays played in Game 3 weigh a little differently now after the outcome of Game 4. 

The Dodgers were able to win Game 3 of the World Series, thanks to a Freddie Freeman home run to close out the nearly seven-hour ballgame. A win in Game 4 and the Dodgers would have a considerable series lead and a virtual lock over the Blue Jays. However, that didn’t happen. 

Shohei Ohtani was not able to bail the Dodgers out this time as the Blue Jays, behind the strong pitching of Shane Bieber, tied the series with a 6-2 win at Dodger Stadium. 

“I think that you’ve got to give credit to Bieber for making pitches, getting ahead,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said during his postgame press conference.

The Dodgers find themselves in foreign territory. For the first time this postseason, the Dodgers have lost twice in a playoff series to an opponent. They steamrolled the Cincinnati Reds in two games. Los Angeles then squashed the Philadelphia Phillies with a 3-1 run before dispatching the Milwaukee Brewers with a clean sweep (4-0) in four games.  

When Freeman’s home run blast went over the centerfield wall ended Game 3, it appeared that the Dodgers would have an advantage, especially with Ohtani taking the mound to pitch Game 4. The hope for the Dodgers was that Ohtani would put the clamps on the Blue Jays’ hitting. 

The results didn’t happen that way. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sent a Ohtani pitch in the top half of the third inning into the left-centerfield seats for a two-run home run. The Blue Jays didn’t look back. 

“I am helping my team win some games,” Guerrero said afterward about his offensive output during the postseason.

The Blue Jays added four more runs in the seventh inning and with Bieber quieting the bats of the Dodgers for nearly six innings (5 ?), Toronto was able to claim its second win of the series. The series now comes down to the final three games to determine the outcome of the World Series. 

Game 5 is perhaps the most important game of the series as it is usually the most pivotal. While the winner of a Game 4 has won the World Series 69 percent of the time since the best-of-seven format has been implemented, whoever clams victory in a Game 5 is almost a sure winner to take home the Fall Classic. 

The winner of a Game 5 series in the postseason has gone on to win the World Series at a 74.1 percent clip. History shows that if a team wins Game 5 during the Fall Classic their chances of winning the World Series stands at just a shade over 68 percent.

So, this Game 5 is a big deal for both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays. 

During the postseason, the Dodgers are 19-19 all-time for a Game 5. Their record in the World Series has been underwhelming with Los Angeles holding a 8-12 mark. To their advantage, the Dodgers will be playing a franchise that has so far been winless (0-2) in terms of playing a Game 5 of the World Series. 

So, win Game 5 and the Dodgers have an overwhelming chance of repeating as champions. If Toronto somehow manages to wrestle a victory at Dodger Stadium, then the odds will be in the Blue Jays’ favor to be be crowned with their first title since Joe Carter brought the championship trophy home in 1993. 

For the first this postseason, the Dodgers have been tested. It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles respond over the course of the final three games of the series. 

“We knew this was going to be a great series,” Roberts said. “This team is talented, they’re resilient…they came back fighting.”