Blue Jays Bounce Back in World Series with Game 4 Victory

LOS ANGELES — For the Blue Jays, winning Game 4 was the best way to ensure that Game 3 was not in their future. After suffering a disappointing loss to the Dodgers that stretched into 18 innings, the team wasn’t at its best, making numerous baserunning mistakes while missing opportunities against a shaky Dodgers bullpen.

However, on Tuesday night, the Blue Jays turned things around. They were sharper on the bases and aggressively targeted Shohei Ohtani, resulting in a decisive 6-2 victory at Dodger Stadium, keeping their World Series hopes intact.

With both teams tied at two wins each, Toronto is set to welcome the Dodgers back for a rematch. Before that, Game 5 is all set for Wednesday, featuring Blake Snell for the Dodgers facing off against Trey Yesavage.

Interestingly, if any team appeared to struggle after the previous night’s marathon game, it was the Dodgers. Ohtani started well on the mound but faltered during the sixth inning, ultimately being replaced during the seventh after allowing a series of hits. The Blue Jays capitalized, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs to take a 2-1 lead.

The Blue Jays played without George Springer, who had left the previous game with discomfort in his side after a swing. Manager John Schneider remained tight-lipped about the nature of Springer’s injury, saying only it was being assessed constantly.

Shane Bieber delivered a strong performance, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one earned run on four hits. It was his most standout outing this postseason, particularly after a few prior struggles. The Blue Jays had acquired him from Cleveland just before the trade deadline while he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery.

In the game’s early moments, Max Muncy got the Dodgers on the board first with a walk, and soon after, Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez helped bring Muncy home with a single and a sacrifice fly.

In response, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a two-run homer off Ohtani in the third, giving the Blue Jays their first lead. After some solid hitting, Ohtani struggled to keep control, then Jimenez hit another homer later to extend the Blue Jays’ advantage to 3-1.

After another round of hitting, Ohtani was finally pulled, leaving him with six innings, six hits, and four earned runs under his belt, alongside one walk and six strikeouts. He finished the game after throwing 93 pitches.

Chris Bassitt stepped in to relieve for the Blue Jays, throwing two scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. Impressively, he hasn’t allowed an earned run in his five relief appearances this postseason.