🔗 Share this article

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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.