🔗 Share this article Vladimir Guerrero Jr Blasts off Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Los Angeles to Tie Series at 2-2 Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control. Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada. Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof. Initial Innings 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 shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season. They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night. Shohei's Night That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon. Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames. Late Game Surge The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy. Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning. Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1. Blue Jays's Resilience The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side. Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became comfortable. Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all year. Final Moments The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build. After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final innings. Looking Ahead The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles. The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.