🔗 Share this article

Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

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

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.