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

Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening 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 processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat 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 took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

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

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.