🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally lost energy.

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

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed almost every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.