🔗 Share this article

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

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed was below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout 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 rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Innings

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

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.