🔗 Share this article

Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

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

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, 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 World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 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 remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic 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 LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.