Guerrero Blasts off Ohtani as Blue Jays See Off Los Angeles to Level World Series at 2-2

Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue 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 problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner 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 entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, completing 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 characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.