🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored 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 wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became safe.

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

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.