🔗 Share this article

Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad 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 Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

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

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.