Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total command.
Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.
The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.
Initial Innings
The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.
They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.
Ohtani's Performance
That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.
His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.
Seventh Inning Rally
The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually lost steam.
Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.
Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.
Toronto's Toughness
The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.
Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon became safe.
Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.
Final Moments
The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.
Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.
Next Up
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 homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.
Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.
