🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

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

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.