Guerrero Homers off Ohtani as Blue Jays Defeat Dodgers to Level World Series at 2-2
Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.
Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.
The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.
Early Innings
The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.
They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.
Ohtani's Night
That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.
Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.
Seventh Inning Surge
The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.
Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation 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 fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.
Blue Jays's Resilience
The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.
Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.
Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all season.
Closing Innings
The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.
Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home runs and the squad cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the late innings.
Looking Ahead
The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.
Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. 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 win.