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

Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full 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 remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon became comfortable.

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

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.