LOS ANGELES -- Andrés Giménez took a lot of flak this year for being essentially a glove-only infielder. His presence in the Blue Jays’ lineup was viewed as more of a liability, and some of that slander was warranted after his .598 OPS was the worst of any American League hitter (min. 350 plate appearances) during the regular season.
That was the regular season. Postseason? That’s a whole different story.
While his overall playoff numbers might not stand out, Giménez has come through in big moments time and time again this October for the Blue Jays, and he did so again in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
Holding a tight one-run lead over the Dodgers entering the seventh inning, the Blue Jays quickly knocked Shohei Ohtani out of the game by leading off with back-to-back hits to put runners at second and third. That brought up Giménez, who, facing left-handed reliever Anthony Banda, worked a full count before smacking an RBI single to left. That critical insurance run gave way to a four-run inning for the Blue Jays in an eventual 6-2 victory at Dodger Stadium that evened the World Series, 2-2.
The clutch gene remains strong with Giménez. He’s now 7-for-14 (.500) with runners in scoring position this postseason with three extra-base hits and 11 RBIs, as opposed to 6-for-40 in non-RISP situations. You might recall his big hits in Toronto’s previous series, as he homered in each of the club’s first two wins (Games 3 and 4) of the ALCS against the Mariners.
Giménez’s seventh-inning at-bat was the typical peskiness we’ve come to know with these Blue Jays. He fell behind early in the count 1-2 against Banda before working it full and spoiling a couple of pitches with foul balls.
“Banda throws mostly sinkers and sliders to lefties,” Giménez said. “Seeing more and more pitches gave me more confidence.”
On the eighth pitch, Giménez got a slider -- a pitch he’d already seen in the at-bat five times prior -- and connected with a line drive that scored Daulton Varsho, who led off the inning with a single off Ohtani.
“We have a plan that if we make a pitcher throw more than five pitches, you give a big advantage to the batter coming behind you,” Giménez said. “That’s our job, and thankfully I was able to get it done.”
That plan worked to perfection. The whole inning was textbook Blue Jays offense. Soon after Giménez’s knock, Ty France brought home another run on a groundout. Following an intentional walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who earlier in the game provided a jolt with his go-ahead two-run homer off Ohtani, Bo Bichette and Addison Barger notched a pair of RBI singles to cap the scoring in a seventh that saw nine Blue Jays come up to the plate.
“Balls finding holes,” Barger said when asked of the difference between Tuesday’s win and Monday night’s Game 3 loss in 18 innings. “Sometimes they fall. Sometimes they don’t. But I think our plan and approach was all the same. Just put the ball in play and get some runners in.”
The Blue Jays’ offense made good on its promise to pick up the pitching after failing to capitalize on the bullpen’s strong effort in Game 3.
For Giménez, there was something extra sweet about helping ensure a World Series win for Shane Bieber, his teammate with the Guardians from 2021-24 before reuniting in Toronto earlier this season. Bieber tamed Ohtani and the Dodgers’ offense by allowing just one run on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts, two coming against the two-way superstar.
“Same guy that I’ve been playing with for the last five years,” Giménez said of Bieber. “He loved the moment. He loved to be out there and help the team. I’m really happy for him. He’s one of the guys that you want on the mound with a season on the line.”