🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an decisive victory.