🔗 Share this article

Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.