Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.
Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.
The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.
They answered right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.
That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.
Ohtani fastball velocity was below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.
The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost energy.
Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.
Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.
The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.
Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.
Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all year.
The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.
After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad cashed almost every scoring opportunity available in the final innings.
The win ensures the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.
The fifth game looms with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.
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