Who the hell is going to pitch for the Blue Jays and Dodgers in Game 4?

If you're just going by innings played, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers have already played four games in the World Series. Of course, that's not actually the case as the two titans are set to go into Game 4 on Tuesday night after a taxing 18-inning marathon in Game 3 on Monday that eventually saw Freddie Freeman (after Shohei Ohtani's historic night) walk off the Jays with a solo home run. After such a grueling affair, though, you have to think about fatigue some 18 hours after the conclusion of Monday night's showdown. That's true for the position players, but even more so for the pitching staffs.

In total, the Blue Jays and Dodgers combined to throw 609 pitches in Game 3. Max Scherzer and Tyler Glasnow made the starts, respectively, and each threw 79 or more pitches, which all but rules them out for Game 4. But more importantly, LA used nine pitchers out of the bullpen while the Blue Jays used eight. That leaves us with some depleted cores of relievers for Game 4 and a simple question: Who the hell is going to pitch for these teams in Game 4 with the World Series momentum potentially hanging in the balance?

We know that Shane Bieber will get the start for the Blue Jays with Ohtani, after playing as a DH for 18 innings (and appearing to be at least slightly banged up), is on the bump for the Dodgers. Keep in mind, that's also two starters who returned to the mound after undergoing Tommy John last year. What else is available for each club, though? It's not pretty, but both Toronto and LA do have some options to turn to.

Who the Blue Jays could possibly pitch in Game 4

With Bieber on the hill, it puts Toronto in a bind. Ideally, Schneider would love to keep Bieber on a short leash and at least somewhat of a pitch limit. After all, the veteran is still just a couple of months removed from his return to the mound from Tommy John surgery. But then you see what the Blue Jays bullpen and pitching staff looks like, and it ain't pretty. Here's a look at how many pitches every reliever threw for Toronto in Game 3 (before we look at some other options).

For those keeping track at home, after Scherzer threw 79 pitches, that means the Blue Jays bullpen accounted for 218 pitches thrown in the 18-inning marathon.

Make no mistake, the Toronto 'pen isn't in a good spot. It's highly likely that they don't have a single left-handed option available to them for Game 4 with Little finishing the night off with 29 pitches, Lauer being the long man with 68 pitches in extra innings, and potentially even Fluharty at 14 pitches. The latter is the most likely option that Schneider could turn to in Tuesday night's matchup, but it'd also certainly be ideal to rest him if possible. That might not be easy with lefties like Ohtani and Freeman at the dish for the Dodgers, though.

It's also likely that Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman, perhaps the two highest-leverage arms for the Blue Jays, are going to be unlikely to pitch on Tuesday. But while many were peeved at Schneider for pulling Chris Bassitt after eight pitches in Game 3, that could be this team's saving grace in Game 4.

The expectation should be for Bassitt to throw the bulk of the relief innings in Los Angeles for Game 4 once Bieber is taken off the mound. It makes the most sense after the 18-inning affair when you look at the usage. After that, Varland could be a potential option as well, which actually isn't as bad as you might've thought for Toronto overall.

On top of that, though, we should also be on lookout for either Kevin Gausman or Trey Yesavage to enter the game as well. With a few days of rest under their belts, if the situation calls for more high-leverage moments, turning to the starters of Games 2 and 1, respectively, could be in play. Sure, it could mess up the rotation for Game 5 and beyond, but that matters less if you don't make it to the beyond. Instead, Schneider should figure that out when he gets there and leave no stone unturned for Game 4.

Where the Dodgers could turn in the bullpen for Game 4

Considering that we saw the Game 2 starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, warming in the bullpen during the 18th inning of Game 3, the Dodgers are in dire straits as well. However, much like the Blue Jays, they did leave themselves some options to turn to after Ohtani leaves the mound as the starter. Who is that that will be available, though? We start with the usage for LA in Game 3.

Suffice it to say that Will Klein will get some rest after a heroic effort as the last man standing in the Dodgers bullpen on Monday night. That's also likely true for Edgardo Henriquez, Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski and perhaps Emmet Sheehan as well, though his season-long usage as a starter could still leave some length to be explored for an inning or two in Game 4.

That may not be necessary, though, because the Dodgers did save some high-end options. The most obvious two that Roberts would love to turn to are Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer, especially the latter. Dreyer has been absolute nails in the postseason with electric stuff, and should have plenty of gas in the tank after just five pitches. And there's also a case to be made for Blake Treinen getting work as well, though likely for only an inning, as the team's most relied-upon reliever in the season who they clearly trust.

The issue of trust is most notable when it comes to the legendary Clayton Kershaw, though. In theory, he could be a length option for Los Angeles if needed, but you also have to believe Roberts would simply rather not do that. He brought him in for one batter in a left-on-left matchup with the bases loaded on Monday, and Kersh labored through eight pitches to get that out. At this point in his career (and with his postseason résumé), he's available, but might be better labeled "break glass in case of emergency."

Having said that, the starter options are there as well. Again, they were going to turn to Yamamoto potentially in Game 3. Could that be on the table for him or Blake Snell in Game 4? I may actually prefer looking at Snell in that spot with more rest, and then being able to start Yamamoto on short rest for Game 5 if necessary. But we'll have to see how the Dodgers see things if it comes to that.

Which depleted bullpen has the advantage for World Series Game 4?

Ultimately, I tend to favor what the Blue Jays have to offer for Game 4 of the World Series as they try to recover from the grueling battle on Monday night and even the series back up with only one game to go in Los Angeles. Now, that might seem a bit counterintuitive given that, A. Ohtani has proven to go deeper into games thus far in the postseason, and B. the high-end quality of the Dodgers' remaining arms, especially Treinen and Dreyer.

But what the Dodgers could potentially lack, Yamamoto or Snell not withstanding, is length that they can turn to out of the bullpen. The only arm out there with length would be someone like Kershaw, which is frankly just harrowing in a World Series spot and with his best stuff years in the past. The Blue Jays being able to turn to someone like Bassitt in addition to their potential starter options gives them a clear advantage, especially in a series that's been so impressive overall offensively for both teams.

On the heels of an 18-inning game, though, it feels like just about anything is in play for either team. And if the bullpen situations aren't fully indicative of that enough, then think about the position players that just played the equivalent of two full games on Monday night. There's never been a more appropriate time in baseball to say, "Let's get weird!" than this.