🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays 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 came next when he eventually lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.