🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

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

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat 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's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous 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 LA.

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