TORONTO — Off the bat, Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger was hoping to score or at least advance to third base as the tying run. The one thing he didn’t anticipate was Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Enrique Hernandez catching a line drive off the bat of Andres Gimenez and doubling him off second base to end Game 6 of the World Series in favor of the Dodgers on Friday night.
Barger knew he had made a critical mistake.
“I was pretty surprised he got to it,” Barger said after the Dodgers’ dramatic 3-1 win to force Game 7. “Off the bat, I thought it was going to go [right] over the shortstop’s head. I didn’t think it was going to travel that far.
“It was kind of a bad read.”
Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa was watching it all unfold from the bench.
“I thought it was getting down 1,000 percent,” he said, shaking his head.
Moments earlier, Barger had doubled off the left-center-field wall and kept running around the bases as the ball got lodged at the base of the wall. Hernandez and Dodgers center fielder Justin Dean put up their hands to signal the ball was stuck, leading to left-field umpire John Tumpane ruling it a ground-rule double.
Barger was sent back to second while pinch runner Myles Straw, who entered the game after catcher Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch, was placed on third.
The top of the Blue Jays’ order was due up after Gimenez, but those hitters never got a chance to bat. Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas made a nice pick of the throw from Hernandez at second base, stunning the home crowd.
“It’s a tough read,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “[Hernandez] playing shallow and one out, you’re thinking score. He made a really good play. It’s such a tweener. He made a good play, good throw. Good play by Rojas, too. Wild.
“Wild way to finish it, for sure.”
That finish means the Blue Jays will play another Game 7 on Saturday, about 10 days after defeating the Seattle Mariners in one to win the ALCS. This time, the World Series title is on the line.
“I don’t think anything can get this group rattled,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Every time there is a loss like this, you ask yourself, ‘How are we going to come back?’ To have the opportunity to play a Game 7, in Toronto at home, it’s a dream come true.”
That was the sentiment throughout the locker room after a second tough loss in the series. The Blue Jays also lost the marathon 18-inning affair in Game 3. They bounced back after that defeat, winning Games 4 and 5. Infielder Bo Bichette was asked what his emotions would be like Saturday.
“I anticipate us doing everything we can to win,” Bichette said. “I’m sure there will be a lot of adrenaline. We’re going to show up to win.”
Infielder Davis Schneider said he has dreamed of being the hero in Game 7 of the World Series since he was a kid. He could get his chance Saturday.
“I still do it to this day,” Schneider said with a smile. “In the cage. Game 7, game on the line. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. Hopefully, we’re up 15-0.”
An early lead for 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who will start Game 7 for the Jays, would undoubtedly bring the home fans to their feet after they had a quieter night for most of Game 6. Scherzer could give way to 22-year-old rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage, who said he would be ready for “anything” after pitching a gem in Game 5.
The same could be said for the rest of the Blue Jays. They aren’t surprised that they’re in this position — they’re simply grateful.
“If you told us in spring training we were going to have a Game 7, everyone here would have signed up for it,” Kiner-Falefa said. “From last place last year to Game 7 of the World Series. We’ll see what happens.”