🔗 Share this article

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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He required just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd 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 momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.