🔗 Share this article Guerrero Homers against Shohei Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Los Angeles to Tie Series at 2-2 Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with total control. Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto. The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence. Initial Innings The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this season. They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the night. Ohtani's Night That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game. Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames. Seventh Inning Surge The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally lost steam. Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, 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 pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape. Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1. Toronto's Resilience The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique. Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe. Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season. Final Moments The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop. After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas. Next Up The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA. Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive victory.