🔗 Share this article

Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring 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 history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

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