Vladimir Guerrero Jr Homers against Shohei Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Dodgers to Level Series at 2-2
Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.
Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.
The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.
Early Action
The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.
They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.
Shohei's Night
That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.
His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed 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 record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.
Seventh Inning Surge
The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.
Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.
Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.
Toronto's Resilience
The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.
Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.
Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.
Closing Innings
The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.
After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.
Looking Ahead
The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.
The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.
