🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. 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 failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive victory.