🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually ran out of steam.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles 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.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.