This series was scripted to be the Dodgers starting pitching vs. the Blue Jays hitting. For Game 1, Blue Jays hitting big time over LAD starting pitching.
This was not vintage Blake Snell, but it was 10 days between starts. He was not nearly as sharp as he had been in the playoffs. His fastball command was off, and that just made his previously unhittable change hittable. He gave up more hits on his change in this game than he had all year.
Just like most pitchers in the postseason, Blake had trouble with getting a third strike past Vlad Guerrero Jr., and that drove up his pitch count. The same was true with Alejandro Kirk.
It was Snell’s inability to get a third strike past Kirk in the 4th who then hit a leadoff single off the RF wall to open the inning. But it was the center cut 4-seamer he threw to Daulton Varsho that changed the outcome of his game. Varsho slugged a 423 foot 2-run HR.
He got through 5.0+ IP thanks in part to a pair of double plays. But in the 6th, Snell flat out lost it. He walked Bichette, gave up a single to Kirk, and hit Varsho to load the bases. Emmet Sheehan relieved Snell and he was not the answer. He had not pitched since October 9, 14 days between games. He gave up a run scoring single, walked in a second run in, and allowed another run scoring single. He did get Springer to ground into a force out at the plate. He only had 10 whiffs in 5+ innings. He had 22 in his last start.
Anthony Banda came in to relieve Sheehan to face the LH hitting Addison Barger who came in as a PH. Barger hit a slider over the CF wall for the first PH grand slam in MLB playoff history. Alejandro Kirk would add a 2-run HR to give the Jays a 9 run 6th.
This game was lost, but the Dodgers needed to not fall down and quit. They needed to show some fight. With former Dodger, Braydon Fisher, on the mound, Tommy Edman drew a 4-pitch walk, and Shohei hit a HR (his 6th) after Pages struck out looking on a 90 MPH slider center up. Mookie struck out and Freddie hit a routine F9.
Justin Wrobleski made his postseason debut in the 7th and retired the side in order. Will Klein made his postseason debut in the 8th. He did allow a single to Addison Barger, but got Springer, Vlad Jr, and IKF to hit routine fly ball outs to Kiké Hernández for a scoreless inning.
Besides the Ohtani long fly, Kiké Hernández and Will Smith and run scoring singles, and that was the LAD offense…5 singles and a HR.
For the game, the Dodgers whiffed 25 times, while Toronto whiffed 15. The Toronto stars were hitters in this game. Kirk had 3 hits, while Springer, Vlad Jr., Barger, and Ernie Clement each had 2. Toronto had 3 HR and none from Vlad Jr. or Springer. If the Blue Jays get to the other starting pitchers as they did to Snell, it is going to be a short series. The Dodgers hitters cannot keep up with the Blue Jays hitters.
For all you Pages fans, you will undoubtedly get your wish and he will continue to start in CF, but give me Alex Call. Better defender, and he certainly cannot hit as bad as Pages. With 7 PA, Call is 3-4 with 2 BB and 1 HBP. He has reached 6 times out of his 7 PA. The team had Yesavage on the ropes with a 1-run lead in the 2nd, and the bases loaded. Pages got the count to 3-2 and struck out on ball 4 keeping his postseason perfect without a walk and without a hit with a runner in scoring position. In 43 PA, Pages is 3-39 with 2 HBP and two sacs. He has 1 RBI.
Trey Yesavage is going to be an All Star pitcher for Toronto. He let the Dodgers bats get him out of jams in the 2nd and 3rd. I expect both he and Snell will have better starts in Game 5.
” I expect both he and Snell will have better starts in Game 5.”
Yes, we must remain optimistic and assume there will be a Game 5. 😁
The polls have not closed yet but we have a projected winner. It’s Thomas E. Dewey
Showing your age there Fred, there are guys here who have no clue who Dewey was!
Do you realize what the average age of a reader/poster is here Bear?
Probably about 103.
I think he might have something to do with libraries 😀
Nice!
If they can beat all four of our starters, then they deserve the title. Personally, I think this team has more fight in them than that. The bad pitching certainly did not affect the defense.
All season, on a 3-2 count, Pages has struck out.
I have noticed that when the count on Pages is 3-2 he will swing at the next pitch no matter where it is. Often he will swing and foul off ball 4,5and even 6.
I took was thinking the same thing. He has a decent eye and patience until the count gets to 3 and 2.
Hopefully he still has trade value after the WS.
The Dodgers hitters looked like the Mariners hitters — too many swings and misses— often on pitches nowhere near the strike zone. That needs to stop or it’s going to be a short series.
I think the main issue was the Dodgers sitting around between the NLCS and the World Series. Snell hadn’t pitched in like 10 days. Most of the relievers haven’t pitched much the last couple of weeks, especially since the starters have been going 8 or 9 innings.
But the other issue in the WS opener is that the Dodgers bullpen is just not good. I knew that if Snell couldn’t pitch into the 7th that they would have a very small chance of winning and the bullpen would give up a bunch of runs, no matter who was called in and that’s exactly what happened. Wasn’t a surprise. When Snell made 29 pitches in thr first, I knew they were screwed.
I think Roberts was looking for length when he called in Sheehan in the 6th, but it didnt matter. There isnt anyone that can be trusted. In that situation, if I were Robers I would have used Sasaki or Treinen. But Vesia would have been a better option than Sheehan and Banda, but he wasn’t on the roster. The starters have to pitch into the 7th inning. That’s how they’ve been winning, by minimizing the bullpen. If this happens again in game 2, theyre going to have to use Sasaki. If they used Sasaki in that situation they Probably get out of it without giving up 9 runs.
Not fixing that pen was eventually going to hurt them. Also on the hitting side, I agree that its probably time to sit Pages. Call has had good at-bats this postseason, and is a much better choice right now.
Hoping Yamamoto can give them length and they can go home with a split.
The Dodger have been in the playoffs too many times to let days off affect them—- that’s called being unprepared.
Everyone has their roles and in that game the only player that came through was Ohtani. It’s one game, they weren’t going to sweep, so put it in the rear view and move forward.
Pages put up 4.0 fWAR in his sophomore year. He started poorly and he apparently is finishing like he started. I’m ok with Call taking his place but that move won’t change what needs to change. The Dodgers need to stay out of their bullpen or this won’t go well.
Ohtani came through when the game was over. Had he got a big hit earlier we might have won. Our offense is just not getting it done. Bases loaded nobody out. or 1 out we are dismal. Everytime it seems pages comes up and strikes out n then Ohtani ks or makes an out. We had one clutch hit n that was Kiki. Savage was terrible n tried to gift us a run but pages wouldn’t take it. The hall of famers look small against the Toronto hitters. Our offense has been bad the whole playoffs n again last night. We have had chance after chance to break a game open but haven’t done it. A big hit early against a struggling pitcher would have changed the whole game. Our offense sucks!!!
I don’t even know where to begin with this so I won’t.
The Dodgers will eventually express themselves in this series. I look forward to it.
Well, overconfidence is no longer a problem.
One ugly inning. That is what it came down to. Sheehan has not been effective in the post season at all. He has pitched 3.2 innings, allowed 8 hits, 7 earned runs walked 4 and struck out 2. Not exactly the guy to put down a rally. Pages is impossible to watch right now. But he wasn’t the only one swinging at ball 4. Ohtani did it, so did Muncy, twice in the same at bat. Snell just did not have it, and I guarantee you; the layoff had a lot to do with it. For the hitters too.
I like Sheehan but perhaps he isn’t cut out to be a relief pitcher.
I totally concur with that assessment. Casparius would have been a better choice to be on the roster out of the pen.
9 runs, 3 charged to Snell but all of them given up by the bullpen. What to do about that? Only thing can be done, don’t give them 4 innings. And offense? Score 8.
OK. UCLA is up. This could look like last night’s game.
It was worse.
Based on his playoff performance Sheehan should not enter any close game again. He appears to be overwhelmed by the moment. His performance has been embarrassing thus far. Idk what happened but surely Tanner Scott would have been a better option than some of these guys. The Dodgers know why but I don’t. Rh pitching seems the way to go I guess but adding Hernandez does nothing. He can’t throw strikes, Sheehan horrible, I would rather c Klein. I know the game was over but Wrobleski looked good. He was aggressive Sheehan looks scared to death.
Let’s not panic. No one remembers who won the first game. Only the last game.
I am a big Sheehan fan. He shined as a starter so he should be used to start an inning and if he is put into a game like last night then leave him in longer. He got his feet wet and might have settled in. The first hit against him was hit hard but had that ground ball been closer to Betts it could have been a double play. Whether the hitter is the star or the pitcher often depends on where a ball is hit.
Sheehan has been effective in the Playoffs. Is Roberts using hi correctly? I don’t think so.
I get your point but who is Roberts supposed to turn to in that situation? Every player on that roster knows what his role is. It could not have surprised Sheehan he was called on. If that moment is too big for him he shouldn’t be on the roster. But, if not him, who?
The Dodgers know what they need to do. If they aren’t ready to do it, oh well.
Every other team in MLB is now watching these two teams. And that’s a very good thing for Dodger fans.
I would put in a short reliever experienced in coming in mid-inning.
And, I wouldn’t second guess myself by too quickly yanking the guy I put in.
“I would put in a short reliever experienced in coming in mid-inning”
Who might that be?
I would have pulled Snell and brought in Wrobleski after the first batter reached base.
It is time to sit Pages.
I know what should have been done because I’m a Monday morning qb. Please!
🖕
Are you forgetting that BIG HIT Pages gave us to beat the Phillies in game 4?
No wonder the pitcher bobbled it….it was hit faster than a speeding bullet.
Oh yeah, he blistered that one.
It is only one game; Toronto fans acted like they won the whole thing already. Just head home with a split, that should be the focus.
In 1959 Dodgers were blown out 11-0 by the White Sox, they won game 2, took 2 of 3 in LA, and won game six 9-2. This feels a lot like that.
1959 was exactly what I was thinking. Also 1965 WS with Minnesota.
I’m thinking of the 55 and 56 WS.
They lost the first two games of the 55 series, but they did not give up 11 runs in the first game. In 56. they won the first two games. But ended up losing the series.
From my position by position analysis, 2 days ago:
“Freddie, Muncy and Ohtani need to do their work on the Jays right-hand dominate pitching staff and Pages needs to produce or sit. He’s just an out right now.”
Sam Oyed replied “The problem with sitting Pages is who plays CF. Unless things have changed, Edman can’t play because of his ankle and Kike’ can’t play CF because of his back ( at least that’s what I’ve read. Of course if he can play LF why not CF?). Call seems to be a corner outfielder. Maybe the week off will help some injuries heel.”
Sam has his points but I can’t watch Pages anymore. He’s just lost.
Ohtani was 0 for 3 when it mattered and hit a meaningless homer after the game was decided. Freddie struggled and Pages, now in the 9 hole, went 0 for 4 with 2 K’s dropping his playoff numbers to .077 / .225. I have been a big Pages supporter claiming that someday he will be a .300 hitter. But he’s making me wonder about that future, with his current performance. Maybe it’s just a bad stretch? But his problem seems to me to be between his ears.
I typically am not a fan of lineup changes this time of year but maybe Call needs a chance?. I would prefer Miggy moving to 2nd and Edman to center but apparently Edman isn’t capable of playing in the outfield.
I will stay with my analysis that Pages however, he needs to sit.
I bet he doesn’t.
But it doesn’t matter when Snell, Sheehan and Banda give up 11 runs in 6 innings. Big game for Yamamoto tonight but we’re not done even if the Jays take the first 2 games. Stay the course and don’t panic.
And play better.
The problem, as I see it anyway, is that Pages IS the centerfielder. There’s nobody else suited for that position on this team. As was mentioned, he put up a 4 fWAR this season and he did it with 2 months where he OPS’d in the .600’s. He could snap out of it at any moment.
I think the Dodgers leave him there. That said, I have no problem with putting Call in his place. But if done, Kiké may be a better pick to play center.
Roll the dice, play Dean in CF. His at bats in the 9 hole could not possibly be worse than Pages, he could draw walks and steal a base now and then.
Why is there all this hesitation with putting Alex Call in CF. He was the CF for Washington before Jacob Young got there. In 2023, with 679.2 innings, Alex had a +4 DRS and a +7 OAA as a CF.
Roberts is not going to change. Pages is back in the lineup again today, and Roberts believes in him. He has said he believes that Pages is going to go off in this series. All we can do is hope Doc is right, because he is not coming out of the lineup.
Well, he was right about Conforto and he went off. I jest.
For any Dodger fans hoping to see Pages replaced by Call, it’s not happening tonight to start the game. Pages is penciled in, will he get PH for is anybody’s guess
If nothing else, Roberts is stubborn. IMHO
The Cubs are expected to pursue Dylan Cease in free agency. UCLA had their butts handed to them by Indiana today, 56-6.
Man, Gausman looks very hittable — all kind of fastballs in the zone (esp first pitch) — but Dodgers are not making hard contact. We gotta wake up quick or we’re in trouble!
Will Smith!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Max Muncy!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 more outs — let’s see Yamamoto do another complete game!
Before the game I wanted Doc to sit Pages. I’m rethinking that now and would like to see Call in RF in game #3. Teo looks completely lost.
If an opposing pitcher throws him anything other than a breaking ball once he has two strikes on him should be summarily released. Teo swings at anything with two strikes and appears to have very little pitch recognition.
Are you talking about Teo or Ohtani?
Fair point
Yamamoto is making his contract look like a massive bargain
Yamamoto is the Dodgers Ace period. Smith is the Dodgers best clutch hitter. Max should go to left more often.
Nice catch by Dean in CF. Kid can defend. I would love to see him get an AB. Next three games should be Glasnow, Ohtani then Snell.