Jays, ‘team of uncommon men,’ rebound to tie WS
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Bradford Doolittle
LOS ANGELES — The only thing harder than coming off an 18-inning win in the World Series is coming off an 18-inning loss in the World Series.
The Toronto Blue Jays became the second team in baseball history to face that task Tuesday night — and like the 2018 Boston Red Sox, they responded with a resounding win. Behind a third-inning Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blast off the Shohei Ohtani and a much-needed quality outing from starter Shane Bieber, the Blue Jays cruised to a mostly drama-free 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, evening the Fall Classic at two games apiece.
“I think this is a quote from Herb Brooks, but we are a team of uncommon men,” third baseman Ernie Clement said. “I think a normal team would’ve folded today, and we’re not normal. I think we’re the best team in baseball, and we got out of bed today with our hair on fire and ready to play.”
Call it resiliency. Call it moxie. Call it the natural spark provided by Guerrero’s two-run blast off the game’s biggest star, but the Blue Jays had it on full display Tuesday, recovering from the disappointment of battling the Dodgers for 18 innings in Game 3 only to lose on Freddie Freeman‘s game-ending homer.
“It’s baseball. It’s the World Series,” said Toronto outfielder Addison Barger, who had two of Toronto’s 11 hits. “You get that adrenaline with the fans here and everything and it being the World Series. That kind of gets you through.”
So it’s all adrenaline?
“And a lot of caffeine,” Barger quipped.
One night after both teams emptied their bullpens to cover what amounted to two full games, both clubs needed their starters to work into the middle innings. Both did. Bieber went 5⅓ innings, holding the Dodgers to a lone run while striking out three.
A midseason pickup for the Blue Jays in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, Bieber has won a team-best six games since his arrival, including the playoffs. The 2020 American League Cy Young winner almost made an appearance earlier than planned: It was possible that had Game 3 extended even longer, he would have come on in an emergency relief appearance.
“I think I was probably very close to getting the ball,” Bieber said. “Ultimately, I choose to believe it’s worked out the way that it’s supposed to work out, and I was able to make the start tonight.”
Guerrero’s homer was the seventh of his postseason career, establishing a franchise record previously held by Joe Carter and Jose Bautista. All seven homers have come this postseason, Guerrero’s fourth time in the playoffs.
“I think this is a quote from Herb Brooks, but we are a team of uncommon men. I think a normal team would’ve folded today, and we’re not normal. I think we’re the best team in baseball, and we got out of bed today with our hair on fire and ready to play.”
Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement
The Game 4 homer continued Guerrero’s red-hot playoff run, during which he has hit .419 over 15 games with seven homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.306 OPS. And he stayed hot after playing 18 innings the night before. The key: plenty of Zs.
“It hurts when you lose a game like that, but I was so tired that I just went to sleep,” Guerrero said. “I was just looking for a pitch to do damage, and I saw it right there up in the zone and I could do damage.”
Clement chased Ohtani with a double that was part of what became a four-run rally in the seventh. That extended his postseason hitting streak to 10 games, the longest such streak for Toronto since Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar did it in 1993 — the last time the Blue Jays won the World Series.
Like everyone else in the Toronto clubhouse after the game, Clement was asked how he felt when he arrived at Dodger Stadium for Game 4, after playing for more than 6½ hours Monday.
“Just tons of energy,” Clement joked, indicating the opposite. “The body didn’t hurt at all. Just exactly what you’d think after playing 18 innings.”
With the win, the Blue Jays displayed the kind of turn-the-page ability that marks teams that survive the October labyrinth and often becomes a theme of postgame conversation when a club bounces back from a tough loss. It is a common theme but in this case was an uncommon example, because only one other game in Series history has lasted as long as Game 3.
Still, the Blue Jays have embraced the resiliency trope.
“Anytime you go 18 innings and come out on the losing end, it’s a little bit deflating,” Clement said. “We did a great job bouncing back. It’s a testament to the character in this clubhouse.”
Toronto’s victory echoed that of the 2018 Red Sox, who lost to the Dodgers in Game 3 of that World Series, also at Dodger Stadium, also on a game-ending homer. Boston recovered to win Game 4 9-6 by battering the weary Los Angeles bullpen and went on to win it all in Game 5.
The Blue Jays can’t repeat that, but in evening the series, they ensured there will be a return trip to Toronto, where 30,000 fans watched the game at Rogers Centre and reacted as if the action were playing out on the empty field before them.
“30,000 at the Rogers Centre?” Bieber said when told of the gathering. “Very cool. They deserve it. They deserve to end it on our terms, and in Toronto.”
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Jake Trotter
Ryan Day said he “had an inkling” Ohio State‘s headsets might go down during Saturday’s game at Michigan — so the Buckeyes coach had a backup communication plan already in place.
Ohio State lost the ability to communicate over the headsets during the second half of its 27-9 win over the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes had quarterback Julian Sayin come to the sideline between plays and get the calls directly from Day before going back to the huddle, until the problem was fixed later in the half.
“I was just getting us through it until we got the headsets up and running, which took a little while to get done,” Day said Tuesday. “But yeah, just by chance we had planned for it, and so we were ready to go.”
Day was then asked why he had the inkling.
“You just got to be ready for anything,” Day said. “When you go into any big game, you’re always trying to put contingency plans in place for anything that could possibly happen.”
Sayin said, after the game, that running to the sideline before each play reminded him of playing in high school. Day said he met with his assistant coaches Friday to go through the contingency plan.
“I think some of the guys on the staff were looking at me sideways,” Day said, “like, ‘Why would you think that would happen?’ I said, ‘I just don’t know. We just got to be ready for anything.’ It’s funny how your mind works.”
Day then winked, drawing several laughs.
Michigan, however, did not find Day’s implication humorous, denying any involvement in the Buckeyes’ communication issue in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“We do not manage their communication system. Each athletic department provides electrical power and fiber lines that are equal on both sidelines. Ohio State has staff within its athletic department that handles coach-to-player communication and the coach-to-coach headset system. The coach-to-player communication system is run by a third party chosen by the Big Ten. A neutral technician is on the sidelines to assist both teams at every game across the conference,” the statement read.
“With any cellular-based communication system, there are technical issues that happen from time to time in stadiums across the country. We don’t want the opponent to have issues because our team would have to take our communication system down as well. No one benefits from a system failure.
“In this instance, our game event manager, stadium supervisor, an electrician and staff immediately jumped in to assist with the issue on Saturday. The issue was resolved before anything needed to be taken offline.”
In August, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions penalized Michigan after investigating the school for stealing signs through advance scouting. The NCAA fined the Wolverines at least $30 million, imposed recruiting restrictions and suspended coach Sherrone Moore three games, including next season’s opener, noting it had “overwhelming” and concerning evidence of a cover-up by Michigan staff. The NCAA committee also levied an eight-year show-cause penalty for former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions and a 10-year show-cause for former coach Jim Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
The top-ranked Buckeyes will face No. 2 Indiana in Indianapolis on Saturday, with the College Football Playoff’s top overall seed on the line.
Day said his team had already put the Michigan win in the past and is “locked in” on winning the Big Ten title.
“This is going to be an electric atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a great opponent. This is a very important game for us. We got to go play our best.”
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Dave Wilson
Amid a historic season at Texas Tech, the school announced on Tuesday that it has agreed on a new seven-year contract with coach Joey McGuire.
Sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the new deal averages nearly $7 million per year. The school said it also includes incentives for future Big 12 and postseason success.
Under McGuire, the Red Raiders are No. 5 in the College Football Playoff ranking, having completed an 11-1 regular season with each win coming by at least 20 points. Texas Tech is making its first Big 12 championship appearance against BYU on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
“We believe the future of Texas Tech Football has never been brighter under Coach McGuire’s leadership,” athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. “Our success this season is not a one-year plan. We fully intend to be an annual contender in the Big 12 Conference with our eyes on the College Football Playoff each and every season. We have the right leader in Coach McGuire to keep elevating this program, and this contract extension is a reflection of our investment in sustaining this success for years to come.”
McGuire is 34-17 in four years in Lubbock, tied for the most wins by a Texas Tech coach through that span since Jim Carlen from 1970 to 1973.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for Kirby Hocutt and our administration for the belief in this football program,” McGuire said in a statement. “I’ve said it countless times but my family and I love Lubbock, this university and this fan base. We expect to continue to elevate this program where appearances in the Big 12 title game, like this Saturday, and the College Football Playoff are expected on an annual basis.”
Yahoo Sports first reported terms of McGuire’s extension.
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Andrea Adelson
Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert has signed a long-term contract extension to stay with the Demon Deacons after an 8-4 season, the school announced Tuesday.
In his first year with the school, Dickert led Wake Forest to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2022, exceeding outside expectations. Wake Forest was picked to finish 16th out of 17 teams in the preseason ACC media poll.
Dickert said in a statement that Wake Forest will “further invest” in football.
“This commitment ensures that our staff has the stability, resources and support necessary to continue elevating Wake Forest football,” Dickert said. “I’m proud of this team, our staff and our seniors who built the foundation for this new era, and excited for what’s ahead.”
Wake Forest had two Top-25 wins this year over Virginia and SMU, snapping the Mustangs’ 20-game regular-season conference winning streak.
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