Vladimir Guerrero Jr Blasts off Shohei Ohtani as Toronto See Off Dodgers to Level World Series at 2-2

Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive victory.