Guerrero Blasts against Shohei Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Los Angeles to Tie Series at 2-2

Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical 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 World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.