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

Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

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

His pitch speed was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive victory.