The pitcher-catcher bond is always special — think Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright or A.J. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw, pairs that seemed to share one mind. Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith aren’t there yet, but after a tough Game 4 loss, Smith showed his loyalty, stepping up to defend his superstar pitcher. In Game 4, Shohei Ohtani almost looked normal human. He started the game less than 24 hours after an 18-inning marathon and pitched well at first, holding the Blue Jays scoreless for the first two innings.

But then, after a Nathan Lukes single, Shohei gave up a huge two-run go-ahead homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third, which gave Toronto a 2-1 lead. Ohtani settled down after that and didn’t give any runs, and pitched into the seventh inning. But then he ran out of gas and left with two runners on base in the seventh.

The bullpen then let those runners score, with Ohtani’s final line being pitching six-plus innings with four earned runs while striking out six.  And after the 6-2 loss, when a reporter asked Will Smith about Ohtani’s stamina, Smith immediately put the blame squarely on himself.

“I thought he… I thought he had an excellent start tonight. Made one mistake to [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.],” Smith said. “You know, they hit a homer off him in the last inning. You know, they got a couple of hits. Yeah, it just happened to be… we couldn’t minimize right there. They jumped up.”

Vladdy Jr. crushed an 85 mph sweeper. The pitch hung right over the plate. Smith, the catcher, calls the pitches. So, he is basically telling that the bad pitch his my fault, not Ohtaani’s.  And that one mistake was the game-changing home run, and it was that moment where the Dodgers lost control of the game.

And how was Ohtani’s day at the plate?

When the Blue Jays intentionally walked him four straight times during his 4-for-4, perfect night with two homers and two doubles, Manager John Schneider said he will keep doing it. So the fans wondered if Ohtani would even see a strike in Game 4. But after Game 4, it was clear that Schneider must have been bluffing.

The Jays did not intentionally walk him once for the night and successfully kept his bat silent in every at-bat. Ohtani was 0-for-3 for the night with one walk and struck out twice, with none of his hits crossing the infield. Even Superman has an off day.

And with the Dodgers’ loss ties the World Series is tied at two games apiece and guarantees the series returns to Toronto, where the Blue Jays will have Game 6 and a possible Game 7 at home.

The Dodgers have not clinched a World Series title at Dodger Stadium since 1963, and with this recent loss, the long-running streak continues, as they will not get the chance this year either.

But the defending champion still holds a massive advantage. Their biggest strength in this postseason, their top two arms are ready. Blake Snell will pitch Game 5. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 6. The Dodgers have other advantages as Ohtani is having a historic postseason. Freddie Freeman is always a threat. And Toronto?

They have a deep and young roster as well. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on fire with a 1.306 OPS this postseason. Ernie Clement is having a dream in a year with an over .35 batting average.  And they are deeper down the stretch. But they are also dealing with major injuries. Star slugger George Springer is day-to-day. A backside injury kept him out of Game 4. All-Star Bo Bichette is also playing hurt. He has a knee sprain that limits his movement.

So, the Dodgers are healthier, but they are also without one of their key bullpen pitcher, Alex Vesia, in this Fall Classic.