Guerrero Homers against Shohei Ohtani as Blue Jays See Off Dodgers to Tie Series at 2-2

Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. 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 even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest 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 Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.