🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

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

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. 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 inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players collected hits, five brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.