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

Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.