🔗 Share this article Guerrero Blasts off Ohtani as Toronto See Off Los Angeles to Level World Series at 2-2 Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total command. Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada. Toronto had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence. Early Innings The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season. They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night. Ohtani's Performance That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon. Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings. Late Game Surge The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of steam. Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape. Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1. Toronto's Resilience The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side. Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became safe. Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all year. Final Moments The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop. Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted almost every scoring chance available in the final stanzas. Next Up The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA. The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive victory.