With the Phillies’ big three missing in the NLDS, the Dodgers are doing well, leading 2-0.
USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale breaks down the NLDS matchup between the Phillies and Dodgers, with the latter holding a commanding 2-0 lead.
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NEW YORK — In Game 4 of the American League Division Series, Nathan Rooks hit a two-out double in the seventh inning, and Luis Berland and seven Toronto Blue Jays relief pitchers allowed just six hits to shut out the New York Yankees, winning 5-2 and advancing to their first ALCS since 2016.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS is scheduled for Sunday at Rogers Center in Toronto, with the Blue Jays facing either the Seattle Mariners or the Detroit Tigers. The series is tied at 2, and the deciding game will be played Friday in Seattle.
After using eight pitchers in the 9-6 Game 3 loss, Blue Jays manager John Schneider assembled his staff and told his team to be flexible and ready at a moment’s notice. In Game 4, none of Toronto’s eight hurlers could throw more than 27 pitches, and the Yankees’ hitters could do nothing to break through, essentially giving a master class on how to run a bullpen game.
Burland, who lost Game 3 after allowing home runs to Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit on 20 pitches and striking out two.
Once again, the Blue Jays got off to a quick start, scoring first as they had in the past three games. Then, George Springer hit a double, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a single, his ninth RBI of the series, to take the lead.
The Yankees were once again in a come-from-behind mode, and in the third inning, Ryan McMahon hit the first solo home run of his postseason career over the right field to tie the game.
In the end, the winning run was given to Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlitler in the fifth inning, but in his last start, he pitched eight scoreless innings and recorded 12 strikeouts in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox.
It was the Blue Jays who repeatedly put the ball in play, extending their lead in the first inning with singles by Ernie Clement and Andres Jimenez and George Springer scoring Clement on a sacrifice fly. Schlitler, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander, allowed eight hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Toronto got an insurance run in the seventh inning when Ernie Clement singled to right field, his ninth of the series. Andres Jimenez then reached on a fielder’s choice thanks to an error by second baseman Jazz Chisholm, allowing Clement to advance to third base. Schlitler was relieved by Devin Williams and allowed Rooks a two-run homer to extend the lead.
Pinch hitter Myles Straw hit an RBI single in the eighth inning, sending thousands of fans to the exits of Yankee Stadium. The Yankees’ last scoring threat came to nothing in the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded after Austin Wells got a fly out.
The Yankees are trying to climb out of a 2-0 ALDS hole, which they accomplished in 2017, but they have faced questions this offseason and have fallen short of a championship again despite having the third-highest opening day salary in the majors.
— Scooby Axon, USA TODAY Sports
The schedule for Wednesday’s game is as follows:
Myles Straw hit a one-out single in the top of the eighth inning against Camilo Doval, increasing Toronto’s lead to 5-1. David Bednar took the mound, with Andres Jimenez and George Springer connecting runners to first and third base.
Jazz Chisholm could not handle a hot shot that could have been an inning-ending double play, opening the door for the Blue Jays to counterattack in the seventh inning. Devin Williams relieved starter Cam Schlitzer and struck out George Springer, but Nathan Rooks hit a two-run home run with two outs to put the Blue Jays up 4-1.
Eric Lauer intentionally walked Aaron Judge, and with one out and no bases, Cody Bellinger lined out to left for two outs. Yariel Rodriguez replaced Lauer and gave up a walk to Giancarlo Stanton, but forced Jazz Chisholm to ground out and end the inning with runners in scoring position.
Ernie Clement and Andres Jimenez started the top of the fifth inning with singles against Cam Schlitter, the latter being unmanned and Clement advancing to third base. George Springer hit a sacrifice fly to center field that gave them the winning run, but Schlitzer limited the damage by striking out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with two outs.
Addison Berger hit a leadoff double in the top of the fourth inning against Cam Schlitler, but the rookie right-hander forced flyouts to Alejandro Kirk and Dalton Varsho, then struck out Anthony Santander at third base.
Ryan McMahon, acquired in July, hit a solo home run off left-hander Mason Fluharty in the bottom of the third inning, tying the game at 1-1. McMahon enters Game 3 of the 2025 postseason with three hits (all singles) in 12 at-bats.
Today is the anniversary of Don Larsen’s only perfect game of the World Series, when the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5 of 1956. There won’t be a game like that in Game 4 of the ALDS, as both starting pitchers allowed hits in the first inning. Toronto took an early 1-0 lead with three hits, but New York wasted Aaron Judge’s one-for-one hit (his 12th postseason hit).
The Blue Jays got the ball rolling from the start, with George Springer getting the party started with a go-ahead double over left field on Yankees rookie starting pitcher Cam Schlitzer’s second pitch, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scoring his ninth RBI in the ALDS. With the third out, Cody Bellinger made a nice sliding play that stranded two batters on base, preventing further damage.
The first pitch for Game 4 is scheduled. 7:08 p.m..
- Trent Grisham (left) CF
- Aaron Judge (R) RF
- Cody Bellinger (left) LF
- Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
- Austin Wells (L) C
- Anthony Volpe(R) SS
- Ryan McMahon (left) 3B
- George Springer (R) DH
- Nathan Rooks (left) LF
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
- Addison Berger (L) 3B
- Alejandro Kirk (R) C
- Dalton Varsho (left) CF
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Ernie Clement(R) 2B
- Andres Jimenez (left) SS
john Message from Manager Schneider to pitchers ahead of the bullpen game
“Be flexible, be prepared. Again, we’ve done this. A lot of teams have done this. There’s no set script. I think everyone has some idea of where they fit in the lineup, and things can change in a hurry.”
“I think (the pitching coaches and bullpen coaches) have done a really good job of communicating that to them, and I think they’ve done enough to the point where they’ve prepared. You never know how a game is going to start, so you can make the best plans and that changes.”
“So I think they have to be flexible and ready to go when the phone rings.”
aaron Boone named starting pitcher for Yankees
“The rotation was huge for us this year, especially because we started playing really well over the last six or eight weeks of the season. A lot of things started with our starting pitching and just being able to give us whether it was our best six or seven innings or even our best fifth inning. Just our starting pitching gave us a real chance to win ballgames every day.”
“Sometimes that’s the nature of the postseason. It’s not going to be perfect. Other guys are really good, other teams are really good. And the Blue Jays have done a good job against the starting pitching here in the first three games of the series.”
“The last three days have been pretty positive for him. He took a hit in a little simulation game with Max (Scherzer) and Chris (Basitt) in Toronto. He runs for the first time today. We’re going to take it one day at a time and just listen to how he feels.”
“I talked to him when he got here yesterday and I think he’s probably turned a little bit of a corner in terms of making steady progress, not just hitting in the cage, but knowing he’s going to be facing live pitches and running for the first time today.”
“So I think he’s making some progress and we want to take it one day at a time.”
