The Blue Jays took a chance on Shane Bieber in July and he helped rescue their title chances in October

LOS ANGELES -- The Blue Jays had just lost an 18-inning affair in which they had the Dodgers on the ropes multiple times. They were trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven World Series with an exhausted bullpen. One of their best hitters was out of Game 4 with an injury and another one of their best hitters is playing hurt. If the starting pitcher faltered in Game 4, the series was likely as good as over -- because good luck beating these Dodgers three times in a row.

The ball was given to Shane Bieber, and the veteran righty bested Shohei Ohtani. And now with a 6-2 Blue Jays win, the 2025 World Series is tied at two games apiece. The Fall Classic has been shrunk down to a three-game series. It will end in Toronto this weekend. 

"There's no choice," Bieber said after the game of needing to step up after the 18-inning Game 3 marathon. "What, are you going to feel sorry for yourself? It's the World Series, right? We're down one game. So now we find ourselves even, with a chance to take the lead, and take the lead back to Toronto after tomorrow. So, yeah, there wasn't much to say. Guys were tired. We left it all out there last night, and everybody's proud of each other. It was a grueling game, but at the same time you got to be able to turn the page, and we were able to do that and show up today with an excitement to go win another World Series game. So that's where we found ourselves. We really feel like we've got no choice, and we continue to grind and continue to play for each other and we'll find ourselves in a good spot."

Bieber wasn't in the Blue Jays rotation much this season. He wasn't even on the team at the halfway point. The former Guardians ace was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery entering this season, his final year under contract with Cleveland (there's a $16 million player option for next year). The Blue Jays took a low-risk flier on him at the trade deadline, grabbing him in exchange for a Double-A pitcher named Khal Stephen. Bieber ended up becoming the first pitcher ever to miss the first four-plus months of the season via injury and then win a World Series game.

The thought process at the time of the trade might not have necessarily been "Bieber will start what is essentially a must-win in the World Series," but surely there was an aim to have him ready and available to make some huge starts down the stretch and into the playoffs. 

"We didn't initially know it was gonna be Game 4 of the World Series," Kevin Gausman said with a laugh. "Having a guy of his expertise, his stature as a Cy Young winner, you feel pretty confident. He can make an adjustment, too, being not as crisp in the first, with his ability to find his breaking ball."

Bieber allowed a second-inning run on a sacrifice fly from Enriqué Hernández before locking in. His final line: 5 ⅓ innings, four hits, one earned run, three walks, three strikeouts.

"For a guy that got here at the deadline, he's -- I mean, to me, he seems like he fits in really well," manager John Schneider said after the game. "It's a really good complement to the starters that we have here, and it's so nice to have a group like that, that just kind of get it, you know? It's not an easy thing to do, get traded from the only team you've been with and then just have your life kind of flipped upside down in a new country and things, with a family. But he just settled in really well, and these are the spots that we acquired him for. And it's asking a lot of him, based on what he's been through with the recovery from the surgery and stuff. But he's enjoying it and he's embracing it and he's been a huge part of us getting here."

Again, if Bieber had faltered early in this game, you could probably close the door on the Blue Jays' chances to win their first title in 32 years. Piecing together a marathon from the bullpen again wasn't going to fly, and the Dodgers are probably too good to take down three straight games. Bieber stepped up, though. 

"We have confidence in him anytime he goes out there," said Gausman. 

"He's awesome," said Ernie Clement. "He just kept them off balance all night and made it easy for us on defense. Just an awesome game." 

Really, you have to credit the entire Blue Jays team. They fell behind early but bounced back. We've seen them rebound repeatedly. It happened so many times in the regular season. They came back from an 0-2 hole in the ALCS against the Mariners and then won Games 6 and 7 after returning to Toronto following a gut-punch of a loss in Game 5. They were trailing in Game 1 of the World Series before having an offensive explosion. And now, after an 18-inning loss that could have been devastating, they went out and hit the ball hard and got great pitching and defense. Oh, and did we mention that one of their best offensive players (George Springer) is hurt? 

No matter. The Blue Jays bounced back and evened the series. 

"I think this is a quote from Herb Brooks," said Clement, citing the hockey coach who famously won the gold medal with the 1980 USA Olympic team. "But we are a team of uncommon men. I think a normal team would've folded today and we are not normal. I think we're the best team in baseball and we got out of bed today with our hair on fire and ready to play." 

"It did sting. We poured our hearts into that game, everyone," said Game 3 starter Max Scherzer, who noted that the loss wasn't quite the gut punch it seemed like from the outside. "What we saw from everyone in this clubhouse gave us reason to believe in each other. We responded in a big way tonight." 

Bieber was front and center. Remember all that talk leading up to Game 4 on whether or not the Blue Jays would even pitch to Shohei Ohtani? Bieber did walk Ohtani in the first inning, but after that, he struck him out twice. Those were the first two outs Ohtani made at Dodger Stadium since NLCS Game 3 on Oct. 16. 

"Any time you can do that, keep the baseball," quipped Clement. 

Bieber's stuff wasn't overwhelmingly dominant or anything. It hasn't been most of this year, his first back since that surgery. It's tough, that first year back. Bieber just did his thing with command and guile. You could say he gutted his way through the fifth inning and into the sixth when the Jays just desperately needed a good start.

He did leave two runners behind, but Mason Fluharty came out of the bullpen to pick Bieber up, much like Bieber picked up the entire bullpen in this one by working into the sixth inning. 

"The identity of this team, the guys in that clubhouse," Bieber said after the game. "It's hard to describe, other than it's an absolute pleasure each and every day. I think coming off of what could be a back-breaking loss last night, it was an absolute pleasure to show up today and see guys are, nobody changes, nobody ever wavers, nobody ever hesitates. It's the same group of guys each and every day that continue to put the work in, continue to compete, continue to rely on each other, and it's an absolute pleasure to play for them."

And while we have to give credit to Fluharty and Chris Bassitt, normally a starter who was nails in relief in this one, let's not forget Bieber. Let's say the Jays do squeak out a close win in Game 5 with heavy workloads for their top relievers and then go on to win the World Series. Bieber shouldering the load into the sixth inning in Game 4 will have been vital to setting up Game 5. 

Now circle back to that trade in July. Bieber hadn't thrown an MLB pitch since April 2, 2024. He had only gotten up to 59 pitches in his minor-league rehab assignment while looking to return from major surgery. The Blue Jays thought it was worth a shot to grab him. 

It was well worth it. Game 4 of the 2025 World Series proved as much. And the Blue Jays are now two wins away from their first World Series title since that legendary Joe Carter home run in 1993.