🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto 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 guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.