Dodgers and Blue Jays talk about what makes Shohei Ohtani a special player
USA TODAY Sports interviewed members of the Dodgers and Blue Jays ahead of the World Series to discuss Shohi Ohtani’s unique talent.
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TORONTO — Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero walked down the hallways of the Rogers Center with a few friends Friday night, greeting a familiar face and simply saying, “Game 7.”
He spread his arms, exhaled, and shook his head.
Guerrero has only appeared in one World Series in his 16-year career, never winning a title, and his son, Vladimir Jr., will have a chance to go where he hasn’t been before, playing in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night after losing 3-1 in Game 6.
The Blue Jays will face a tough battle going forward, and Shohei Ohtani is expected to start, but he may also pitch in late relief, or he may have to play in the outfield to remain in the game after pitching.
When asked if Ohtani would start, Roberts said, “That’s a possibility.” “I’m not sure, but it’s possible.”
The original plan was for Tyler Glasnow to start, but rookie Roki Sasaki got tired and entered the game in the 9th inning of Game 6, resulting in the shutout.
“It was pretty cool,” Glasnow said of producing his first World Series save.
This set the stage for magic for Ohtani, who saved Team Japan’s World Series Baseball Classic by striking out Angels teammate Mike Trout and winning the gold medal.
Neither team has much experience with Game 7s, with the Blue Jays having never played a Game 7, while the Dodgers lost the last seven games of the World Series to the Houston Astros in 2017.
“It’s going to be tough here,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
“As the game went on, we had chances with the guys on the bases. But we’re ready to play (Saturday). We’re all ready to play. I think we’ll play cards around 1 p.m. and we’ll all shoot. It’s going to be fun here. But fans, we’ll see you tonight (Saturday). Loud, rowdy. We’re ready to play.”
Of course, if they had a douceur, the series would have already ended. However, Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not give them a chance. Even though the bullpen was left hanging and Glasnow, who was originally scheduled to start in Game 7, was selected, he allowed only 5 hits and 1 run in 6 innings.
That honor will likely go to Ohtani.
“We’re just kind of figuring out what his temperature is when he starts and when he comes out of the pen,” Roberts said. “So we’re getting closer to a decision.”
Ohtani had never pitched on three days of rest in his MLB career, but this is the World Series.
“This is Game 7, so there’s a lot of things people aren’t doing,” Roberts said. “You have to trust your players and try to win baseball games.
What is Ohtani’s other superhuman feat that will go down in the history books?
“We’re going to keep it that way,” Roberts said. “I don’t think the pressure or this moment is too much for us. We’ve got to go out there and win one baseball game. We’ve been doing that all year long. Everybody agrees. So we don’t know how the game is going to go, but as far as kind of the moment of winning the game, I couldn’t be more excited to play a baseball game, waking up.”
Game 7 couldn’t have been better.
“It’s going to be three, four, five hours of mayhem and great baseball,” Schneider said. “They’ll be ready. Hopefully they’ll be able to slow down some things but enjoy it.”
“It’s Game 7 of the World Series in your home stadium. I mean, what else do you want?”
