🔗 Share this article

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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized 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.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 separate Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.