🔗 Share this article

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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series record. 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 the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left. Ty 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 stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an decisive win.