🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.