Guerrero Blasts off Ohtani as Toronto See Off Dodgers to Level Series at 2-2

Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the 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 Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

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. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.