Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.
The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.
The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.
They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.
That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.
Ohtani pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.
The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost steam.
Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.
Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.
The Blue Jays's ability to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.
Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.
Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all season.
The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.
After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed almost every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.
The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.
Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an decisive victory.
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