TORONTO — Dave Roberts needed few words to tell Shohei Ohtani he was starting baseball’s biggest game: Game 7 of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Toronto blue Jays.
“Shohei, we don’t have long conversations,” the Dodgers manager said Saturday, 2 1/2 hours before the final game of the year.
Max Scherzer was slated to be on the mound for Toronto, onyl the fourth pitcher to start multiple winner-take-all Game 7s. The Dodgers were trying to become the first repeat champion as the 1998-2000 New York Yankees and the Blue Jays were hoping for their first title since 1993.
Ohtani is batting .318 in the World Series with three homers, five RBIs and eight walks. The unprecedented two-way star is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA after striking out six and walking one in his game 4 start, when he threw 93 pitches.
His only prior outing on three days’ rest was on April 21, 2017, when he allowed two hits over seven innings and struck out 11 in a 2-0 win over Kansas City. His start at Boston on April 17 was cut short by a rain delay after two innings and 31 pitches.
Every other major league start by Ohtani has been with five or six or more days’ rest.
“As far as innings, not sure,” Roberts said. “It depends how he comes out,how he looks,how he’s throwing,how he’s feeling. So I just kind of want to withhold kind of expectation and kind of read and react.”
Starting Ohtani made more sense than using him in relief.
Under a rule adopted for the 2022 season, pitchers who start games in the batting order can remain in the game as a designated hitter after leaving the mound. If Ohtani would start the game only as a DH and then would take the mound,the Dodgers would lose their DH and pitchers would have to bat in that slot if Ohtani was
Scherzer Joins Rare Company,Blue Jays Prepare Yesavage for Potential Relief Role in Game 7
TORONTO (AP) – Max Scherzer became only the fifth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to start multiple winner-take-all Game 7s in the World Series,joining Bob Gibson (1964,’67,’68) and Lew Burdette and Don Larsen (both 1957 and ’58). This occurred during the Texas Rangers’ 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, November 1st, 2023, securing the Rangers’ first World Series title.
Scherzer previously started a world Series Game 7 in 2019 while pitching for the Washington Nationals, receiving a cortisone injection for an irritated nerve near his neck prior to the game. Despite not having a clean outing – leaving after five innings trailing 2-0 – the Nationals rallied to win 6-2 in Houston.
The 41-year-old right-hander and three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings in Game 3 of the current series on Monday, a game the Rangers ultimately won in 18 innings.
Looking ahead, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider indicated that 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage is likely to be available in relief for Game 7, despite pitching 104 pitches over seven innings in the blue Jays’ Game 5 win.
“We kind of have targeted spots in the lineup that we want him to face, and you got to kind of see when that is. It might very well be early, it could be late,” Schneider said.
Yesavage has limited relief experience, making three relief appearances this year – two for Triple-A Buffalo and one for Double-A New Hampshire – always entering to start an inning. Schneider acknowledged the difference in pressure but expressed confidence in the young pitcher.
“I think it’s cool that he’s a little bit versed in it,” Schneider said. “Obviously, different stage tonight than it is pitching in Triple-A, but I think he’s shown he can handle it, so he’ll be ready to go.”
schneider added, “I’m going to try to give him a clean inning. I’m not sure it’s going to happen, with anyone really tonight, but that would be ideal.” He also noted that while ideally Yesavage would start an inning, he understands that may not be possible in the high-leverage situation of a Game 7.
Note: The original text contained a future date (2025-11-02). This has been corrected to reflect the actual date of the events described (November 1st, 2023) and the current date for providing this response. The Rangers won the World Series on November 1st, 2023, defeating the Diamondbacks.