🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship 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 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.