🔗 Share this article Guerrero Homers off Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Dodgers to Level Series at 2-2 Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control. Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada. Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof. Early Action The Dodgers again struck 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 score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year. They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night. Shohei's Performance That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon. His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored 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 fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames. Late Game Rally The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam. Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning. Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice 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 stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1. Blue Jays's Resilience The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his right side. Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable. Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season. Closing Moments The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop. Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings. Looking Ahead The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA. The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.