Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. The biggest story in the NBA over the first week might be the 76ers. They’re one of three teams with at least four wins, and three of those wins have come after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia was 0–46 last year when trailing by 10-plus points in the fourth and is 3–0 in those situations this year.
In today’s SI:AM:
⚾ Blue Jays bounce back
🏀 Latest on gambling probe
🏈 NFL trade ideas
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Ohtani shows he’s not unstoppable
The hype around Shohei Ohtani’s start in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday was palpable. Not only was Ohtani set to make his two-way debut on the World Series stage, but he was doing so after an awe-inspiring day at the plate in the 18-inning thriller the night before.
So what did Ohtani do for an encore? Nothing special, really.
As a pitcher, he allowed four runs on six hits over six innings of work with six strikeouts and one walk. At the plate, he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk. The Blue Jays won the game, 6–2, as Shane Bieber and three relievers held the Dodgers’ offense in check. The series is now tied at two games apiece.
Two of the runs Ohtani was charged with scored after he exited the game as a pitcher. He was pulled from the mound after allowing a single and a double to the first batters of the seventh inning, giving the Jays runners on second and third with nobody out. Anthony Banda relieved Ohtani and allowed both runners to score. Toronto tacked on two more runs later in the inning after Blake Treinen had replaced Banda.
It was an unfortunate outcome for those who had hoped to see a superhero performance from Ohtani. After watching the Jays walk Ohtani in each of his final five plate appearances in the 18-inning game (four intentional walks and one that might as well have gone in the box score as an IBB), I half expected Toronto manager John Schneider to hold up four fingers and send Ohtani to first base automatically when he led off the top of the first inning. Why would you ever allow a guy who became the first player in more than a century with four extra-base hits in a World Series game to swing the bat again?
Toronto’s pitchers did approach Ohtani cautiously, but they just didn’t give him an automatic free pass every time like they did in the back half of Game 3. Bieber walked Ohtani in the first, keeping the ball on the periphery of the strike zone, and then struck him out twice—again not giving him anything over the plate. The only pitch Ohtani saw that caught more than a sliver of the strike zone was a 72-mph curveball from Chris Bassitt in the seventh. He swung and missed.
Ohtani’s off night wasn’t terribly surprising in retrospect. After the marathon Game 3, the story of Game 4 was always going to be how players rebounded and handled the exhaustion. The Fox broadcast repeatedly harped on the fact that Ohtani prefers to sleep 10 to 12 hours per night (must be nice!), and he did seem to be feeling the effects of the late night. What Ohtani does as a two-way player, shouldering the burden of being both a full-time hitter and a full-time pitcher, is already difficult enough when he’s able to stick to his routine. When a seven-hour marathon game—during which Ohtani dealt with leg cramps—throws that routine out of whack, there will inevitably be consequences. Bieber didn’t have to make nine plate appearances the night before.
In theory, the Game 3 hangover effect should have been stronger for the Blue Jays. It’s difficult to imagine the disappointment of walking off the field after losing an 18-inning World Series game, combined with the pressure of knowing you have to win the next one to avoid a nearly insurmountable 3–1 deficit. Losing George Springer in Game 3 to what the team is calling “right side discomfort” only added to the emotional toll of the night. But Toronto showed no ill effects from Monday night’s grueling game, especially at the plate. The Jays totaled 11 hits, the 10th time in 15 games this postseason that they’ve recorded double-digit hits. The Dodgers, by comparison, have only done so four times in 14 games.
Los Angeles’s struggles at the plate will be the biggest thing to watch over the rest of the series. The Dodgers are 8–1 this postseason when they score at least four runs, and the pressure to produce offensively will be even greater now that the team’s already beleaguered bullpen is overworked and undermanned. (The absence of reliever Alex Vesia, who had not allowed a run in his last six appearances and is off the roster due to personal reasons, looms large.)
The Blue Jays’ win in Game 4 guaranteed that the series will return to Toronto on Friday. Game 5 tonight—with Trey Yesavage and Blake Snell as the starting pitchers—will go a long way toward determining whether the Commissioner’s Trophy stays in Canada after the weekend or if the Dodgers bring it back with them to Los Angeles.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- After an 18-inning marathon loss in Game 3, the Blue Jays regrouped and delivered a statement win in Game 4. Tom Verducci details how resilience and leadership fueled their bounce-back performance in Los Angeles.
- Chris Mannix breaks down how federal betting indictments have thrust Adam Silver and the NBA into crisis mode, revealing troubling details that could challenge the league’s credibility and its handling of the sports gambling boom.
- Michael Rosenberg goes inside Ta’Niya Latson’s surprising move to South Carolina, revealing why the nation’s leading scorer left Florida State in search of a bigger challenge—and why that mindset makes her an ideal Gamecock.
- Kevin Sweeney breaks down Sports Illustrated’s 2025–26 preseason men’s college basketball All-American teams, highlighting the nation’s top returning stars and freshmen expected to shape this year’s college basketball landscape.
- The SI preseason men’s college basketball top 25 countdown continues at No. 3, where Kevin Sweeney spotlights a program that turned elite talent evaluation into championship gold (and might just be poised to do it again this season).
- With the NFL trade deadline fast approaching, Conor Orr imagines 12 blockbuster deals that could reshape contenders — from pass-rush upgrades to surprise quarterback moves and a few wild-card swaps fans would love to see happen.
- Daniel Flick identifies five players who boosted their 2026 NFL draft stock in Week 9, including standout performances from Washington’s Denzel Boston and UConn’s Skyler Bell, while one SEC star’s stock took a major hit.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Cole Caufield’s solo effort on his overtime game-winner. (It was the 11th OT goal of Caufield’s career, a new Canadiens franchise record.)
4. A really tough bucket by Kawhi Leonard off a nice feed from James Harden.
3. A strong drive by Giannis Antetokounmpo in crunch time against the Knicks.
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s vicious swing on his home run off of Shohei Ohtani.
1. Connor Bedard’s effortless coast-to-coast goal. (That was one of three goals Bedard had on the night for his first career hat trick.)
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Shohei Ohtani Looks Human as Blue Jays Win Game 4 to Even Series.
