Vladimir Guerrero Jr Homers against Shohei Ohtani as Toronto Defeat Dodgers to Tie World Series at 2-2

Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered 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.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted almost every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.