Guerrero’s Homer Lifts Blue Jays to World Series Tie
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By Harry Kettle
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Summary:
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6–2 in Game 4.
- Shane Bieber held Los Angeles to one run over 5 1/3 innings, giving the bullpen a breather.
- The World Series is now tied 2–2, with Game 5 set for Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman might have dominated the baseball headlines after Game 3, but it was Toronto’s turn to shine on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays evened the World Series at two games apiece with a 6–2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, fueled by a big swing from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a composed start from Shane Bieber.
“Schneider: To Us, It’s Toronto Versus Los Angeles.”
Guerrero’s two-run homer in the third inning set the tone, while Bieber gave Toronto 5 1/3 steady innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits. The bullpen, running on fumes after an 18-inning marathon the night before, held firm and gave up only two hits the rest of the way.
Manager John Schneider commented,
I get that it’s easy to write Ohtani versus Guerrero. To us, it’s Toronto versus Los Angeles. But that swing was huge.
Guerrero, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, and Addison Barger each collected two hits as Toronto pulled within two wins of its first championship since 1993.
Clement said,
I think a normal team would have folded today and we’re not normal. I think we’re the best team in baseball and we got out of bed today with our hair on fire and ready to play.
Bassit: “The Biggest Start We’ve Had So Far”
With the bullpen running on empty, Bieber’s outing came at the perfect time. He kept the Dodgers from carrying over any momentum from their walkoff win the night before, when Freeman went deep and Ohtani reached base nine times, a World Series record.
“It’s the biggest start we’ve had so far this year”, said reliever Chris Bassitt, who followed Bieber with two scoreless innings.
Toronto was without George Springer, and Bo Bichette is still not at full strength, but the lineup found ways to produce. The Dodgers struck first on a Kike Hernandez sacrifice fly in the second inning, but Guerrero flipped the game with a 2–1 sweeper from Ohtani that landed deep in the left-field seats, quieting the 52,000-plus fans at Dodger Stadium.
Toronto sealed it with a four-run rally in the seventh, chasing Ohtani after 93 pitches. Daulton Varsho singled, Clement doubled, and the Blue Jays piled on with RBI hits from Andres Gimenez, Ty France, Bichette, and Barger.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reflected after,
I think that we knew it was going to be a great series. This team is talented, they’re resilient, and they came back fighting.
Rookie Trey Yesavage will take the mound for Toronto in Game 5 against Blake Snell. Statistically, whoever wins Game 5 in a tied World Series takes home the trophy two-thirds of the time, a good omen for whichever team stays hot Wednesday night.
