TORONTO -- The lasting images from Game 7 of the World Series come from how it ended: Miguel Rojas hitting a game-tying home run, Yoshinobu Yamamoto closing it out on zero days' rest, Will Smith launching a go-ahead homer and Mookie Betts turning a double play to clinch back-to-back championships.
But it all began with Shohei Ohtani on the mound, starting on three days' rest for only the second time in his big league career. Ohtani got through 2 1/3 innings before giving up a three-run blast to Bo Bichette, a deficit that proved not to be insurmountable -- but manager Dave Roberts thinks that it may have left Ohtani with something to prove on Wednesday afternoon, his rematch against the Blue Jays.
"He might not admit that, but you're always looking for something to kind of fuel that fire," Roberts said. "I don't think he would change the result, but his last outing here wasn't memorable as far as just the pitching performance."
Ohtani felt that his return to Rogers Centre was a grind, but he put together a much better final line, holding the Blue Jays to one unearned run on four hits and a walk, striking out a pair of batters. But the bullpen could not hold onto the lead in what ended up as a 4-3 loss, snapping a five-game winning streak.
The Dodgers went 5-1 on their East Coast road trip, and Ohtani admitted to feeling some fatigue because of the travel. He also felt that his mechanics were a little off.
"For players, we usually feel fatigue at the end of the road trip," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "I'm not sure if that was the main cause, but I want to make sure that I'm addressing, if [there are] any, some mechanical changes."
Ohtani is the first Dodger to begin a season with back-to-back outings of at least six innings and no earned runs since Kenta Maeda in 2016. Only one Dodger has started a season with three consecutive such starts since earned runs became an official National League statistic: Fernando Valenzuela, who had four in a row in 1985.
Entering the series finale in Toronto, Ohtani had two impressive streaks going. He held the longest active on-base streak (42 games) and the longest active scoreless streak by a starting pitcher (22 2/3 innings). The scoreless streak came to an end, but the on-base streak continues on.
After drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the first, Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 43 consecutive games dating back to last season, tying Ichiro Suzuki (2009) for the most by a Japanese-born player. It is also tied for the sixth-longest on-base streak the Dodgers have seen in the Modern Era (since 1900).
On the mound, Ohtani was able to keep the Blue Jays off the board in his first two innings, but he ran into trouble in the third. He issued a one-out walk to Daulton Varsho, who advanced to second base on a passed ball before coming around to score on an RBI double from Jesús Sánchez, ending Ohtani's streak at 24 2/3 innings.
"Stuff looked good," catcher Will Smith said. "Just kind of the command today, which happens."
The Blue Jays were able to create opportunities against Ohtani, but that was the only time they cashed in against the two-way star, who departed after six innings with a 3-1 Dodgers lead. Once Ohtani was out of the game, Toronto rallied, scoring twice against Jack Dreyer to tie the game in the seventh and plating what held as the winning run against Ben Casparius in the eighth.
"You’re not going to feel your best every day," Roberts said. "But to his credit, he found a way to give us length and exit with a lead."
While Ohtani has reached base in all 12 games this season, he's still getting his feel back at the plate. He found his power stroke during the road trip, going deep three times, but he was hitless on Wednesday.
That hasn't stopped Ohtani from getting on base at an impressive .407 clip. Part of the reality of being one of the best hitters in the game is that opposing pitchers are going to be careful with him, and he can only do so much with the pitches he gets.
"I try to really stay with a simple approach, and if they're not throwing me strikes, I'm happy to take a walk," Ohtani said. "If they are throwing strikes, my job is to swing at them."