🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home runs and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.