LOS ANGELES -- Regrets, the Blue Jays should have a few.
The Jays arrived at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday afternoon still reeling from a heartbreaking 18-inning loss in Game 3 of the World Series.
With another game to play, there wasn't much time to dwell on what went wrong the night before. But based on how the previous 24 hours went, it was impossible not to do at least a little reflecting.
Just like any game, there wasn't just one play that resulted in the loss. Instead, a series of events contributed to the Jays falling behind 2-1 and needing a win Tuesday or Wednesday to send the series back to Toronto.
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Here's a closer look at why the Jays once again have their backs against the wall in the playoffs:
The bad call and the pickoff
Bo Bichette led off the second inning with a single. In the following at-bat, Daulton Varsho got ahead 3-and-1 and took a pitch well above the zone. Varsho assumed it would be called a ball and took a step toward first base, but home plate umpire Mark Wegner motioned for a strike. Bichette also assumed it had been called a ball and started walking toward second when he got picked off. It was a terrible call by Wegner, who according to the umpire scorecard made 12 mistakes in that game, but Bichette also needed to show more awareness.
"(Wegner) has a very deliberate delayed call," Jays manager John Schneider said. "Everybody knows that and I have a ton of respect for him. He's been doing it forever and he's a crew chief in the World Series. I was just asking for, in this environment, a little more clarity, especially for the hitter ... He didn't say anything to Varsh, he didn't say strike, and it was a ball ... It was a two per cent expected strike call, so that's really tough to swallow."
It's worth noting that while Varsho might not have heard the call, it was audible on the broadcast. Varsho also hesitated after it was called a strike and didn't start removing his elbow guard until Bichette started going to second, so the Jays' version of events isn't entirely accurate, even though it was the wrong call.
Down goes Springer
Designated hitter George Springer left after taking an awkward swing in the seventh inning. That took one of the Jays' best bats out of the lineup and created a chain reaction that saw Ty France enter as a pinch-hitter before getting replaced by a pinch-runner in the 10th. If Springer had been healthy, the Jays would have been in a better position to score and they would not have been required to burn two players off the bench.
"He's hour to hour and day to day," Schneider said of Springer, who was out of the starting lineup in Game 4.
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Ohtani already had three extra-base hits, including a homer, when he stepped to the plate in the seventh with the Dodgers trailing by one. Reliever Seranthony Domínguez was supposed to pitch cautiously, possibly an unintentional/intentional walk, but instead grooved a 97.6-m.p.h. fastball down the middle. Ohtani nearly came out of his shoes and slugged a 401-foot homer over the wall for a game-tying homer. The Jays decided to walk Ohtani the next five times he stepped to the plate.
"The guy's a robot," Schneider said of Ohtani, who is also a threat to steal every time he reaches base. "If you walk him, it's a pretty high likelihood it's a double. It's tough either way. If he wasn't that fast, it's way easier just to walk him, for sure."
Not-so-super subs
With the score tied at five, the Jays' Addison Barger reached base on an error to open the eighth. Schneider brought Myles Straw off the bench to put more speed on the bases even though Barger isn't slow. That move went to waste when Straw was stranded at second. A similar approach was taken in the 12th, when Alejandro Kirk was lifted for pinch-runner Tyler Heineman, who also didn't score. The substitutions combined with Springer's injury meant the Jays played most of extra innings with a lineup that was more suitable for a spring training road game.
"That's how we've been playing all year," Schneider said. "I get it that you're down to your defensive players that are hitting, but we have done that all year. If you can get marginal upgrades. I know Barg can throw, but Myles is an elite defender and a base-stealing threat ... I didn't expect to go 18, for sure. I didn't expect those guys to get four at-bats."
The wave
In the 10th, France hit a two-out single to left field. Davis Schneider replaced him on the bases and attempted to score from first on a double to right, but got thrown out. It was an aggressive send by third-base coach Carlos Febles, one that drew criticism because Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was waiting on deck. However, what some critics neglected to mention is that with a base open the Dodgers never would have pitched to Guerrero, especially because Isiah Kiner-Falefa was due up after the all-star slugger. It was a risk worth taking, even though it backfired.
"I think Carlos Febles is one of the best, if not the best, third-base coaches in baseball and has been on this stage before," the Jays manager said. "I thought it was a good send. You made (Teoscar Hernández) make a perfect throw, you made (Tommy) Edman make a perfect throw knowing that they're not pitching to Vlad. Vlad wasn't swinging there."
Zoning out
One of the Jays' best chances to score in extras occurred in the 12th, when they loaded the bases with two out. Future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw entered to face the Jays' Nathan Lukes, who eventually worked the count full. On pitch No. 7, Lukes swung at a 91.9-m.p.h. fastball above the zone. Wegner had called similar pitches strikes, so that swing was understandable. But Lukes then swung at a low 88.9-m.p.h. slider that wasn't close. Instead of a walk to bring home a run, Lukes grounded out and ended the inning.
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