John Schneider explains meeting where he pulled Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber

In any given game, the highest-profile decision that Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider makes usually comes down to when he pulls his starting pitcher.

He’s got just up to three of those decisions left, with the Blue Jays suddenly now just two games away from winning the World Series after a 6-2 victory in Los Angeles over the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

In their Game 4 victory, Toronto starting pitcher Shane Bieber went 5.1 innings, tossing 81 pitches. Bieber picked up the win, while also getting three strikeouts, and giving up just four hits and one earned run along the way.

“If I looked at my outing objectively, I would have loved to give the team a couple more innings, but ultimately, it’s the World Series and a win’s all that matters, so we’ll deal with tomorrow tomorrow,” Bieber said postgame.

When Schneider went to the mound to chat with Bieber, the Toronto pitcher had one out with runners on first and second. After a brief chat, Schneider opted to pull Bieber for reliever Mason Fluharty, who was able to get two outs on the next two batters to get Toronto out of the jam.

“I just said, ‘Talk to me. How are you? What’s your plan?’ I think Shane deserved that. I think — not just the time that he’s been here, but him as a Major League pitcher — he kind of deserved that,” Schneider told reporters postgame of the decision to pull Bieber.

“You realize that that’s probably the biggest spot in the game, and you feel good with [Mason Fluharty] coming in there and just executing. He’s a very, very focused individual. He was ready to go.”

Toronto and Los Angeles head back to Dodger Stadium for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night. Trey Yesavage is expected to get the ball for Toronto, while Blake Snell will take the mound for the Dodgers.

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