Guerrero Blasts off Shohei Ohtani as Toronto See Off Los Angeles to Level Series at 2-2

Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. 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 pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane 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 runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded base hits, five drove in scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.