Guerrero Blasts against Ohtani as Toronto See Off Dodgers to Tie World Series at 2-2

Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.