🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw 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 homer this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.