🔗 Share this article

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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in 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 Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

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