Dodgers Let One Slip Away as Blue Jays Rally Late to Avoid Getting Swept

The Dodgers had this one lined up.

A two-run lead, six innings from Shohei Ohtani, and a bullpen that had been trending in the right direction. For six innings, it looked like a 6-0 road trip was well within reach.

Instead, the Dodgers boarded their flight home with a 4-3 loss — one that felt more given away than taken. That shouldn’t overshadow the bigger picture. A 5-1 trip to open the season is exactly what any team would sign up for. But after winning the first five, this one had a different feel.

“I think if when the road trip started, would we bank 5-1? Absolutely,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But when you win the first five, you want to get greedy and win the last one.”

Ohtani Grinds Through Six

This wasn’t Ohtani at his sharpest — and that’s what made it notable. He battled his mechanics, didn’t have his usual swing-and-miss dominance, and still found a way to give the Dodgers six innings while allowing just one unearned run. His velocity ticked up, but the feel wasn’t quite there.

“I didn’t feel that great,” Ohtani said. “Hard to say, but I think it’s a little bit of both,” referring to fatigue and mechanics late in the road trip. Even so, he handed the ball off with a 3-1 lead after 96 pitches. On most nights, that’s more than enough.

It wasn’t this time.

Bullpen Can’t Hold the Line

The game turned quickly in the seventh.

Jack Dreyer struggled to find the zone, walking the first batter he faced before allowing a string of hits that flipped the inning. A double from George Springer and an RBI single from Daulton Varsho erased the lead in a matter of minutes.

“As a team, I think we’re playing really well,” Dreyer said. “So now it just comes down to me and the rest of the bullpen… and I just didn’t carry my weight today.”

By the time Blake Treinen was called in to stabilize things, the damage had already been done.

One Play That Changed It

If the seventh cracked the door open, the eighth blew it wide.

A walk — fittingly — started the inning. A single from Andrés Giménez put runners on the corners. When Giménez broke for second, Will Smith made the throw. The ball skipped past Miguel Rojas and into the outfield. The go-ahead run scored easily.

It was the kind of sequence that defined the game — small mistakes stacking into something bigger.

Roberts didn’t second-guess the decision. “I thought it was the right play,” he said. “The guy on third wasn’t going, and if we hold onto it, he’s out.”

Rojas, one of the surest hands on the roster, simply couldn’t come up with it. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Blue Jays Take Advantage

Credit Toronto for capitalizing.

Starter Dylan Cease worked through command issues to keep the game close, while the lineup delivered timely hits when opportunities presented themselves.

Jesús Sánchez drove in the first run with a third-inning double, and the combination of Springer and Varsho sparked the decisive rally late.

Closer Jeff Hoffman shut the door in the ninth, stranding the tying run and securing the win.

For a team that had dropped six straight, it was a needed response — and one that kept them from being swept in back-to-back series.

Missed Chances, But a Strong Trip

The Dodgers had chances.

They worked walks, put traffic on the bases, and even extended the lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Smith. Shohei Ohtani also quietly extended his on-base streak to 43 games — tying a notable mark for consistency.

But they couldn’t land the final blow.

And in a game where three of the Blue Jays’ four runs were helped along by walks, that margin mattered.

Final Thought

This one will sting a little — mostly because it felt avoidable.

But zoom out, and the Dodgers went 5-1 on their first road trip, riding a league best  .750 winning percentage and heading home with momentum still intact.

The season won’t change because of one game.

But you hate giving one away—no matter how early.

They all count.