🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

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

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 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 enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

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

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.