Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 2-run HR off Shohei Ohtani helps Blue Jays even World Series at 2-2 against Dodgers

By Wayne Sterling, CNN

(CNN) — The Toronto Blue Jays bounced back from a tough Game 3 loss to even the World Series at two games apiece following a 6-2 Game 4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

Down 1-0 in the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drilled a go-ahead two-run home run off Dodgers two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani to give the road team a 2-1 lead. It was Guerrero Jr.’s seventh homer this postseason.

“I get that it’s easy to write Ohtani versus Guerrero. To us, it’s Toronto versus Los Angeles. But that swing was huge,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters after the game. “After last night and kind of all the recognition that went into Shohei individually and he’s on the mound today, it’s a huge swing from Vlad. It’s a huge swing to get us going.”

Guerrero Jr. said he never lost faith in the Blue Jays despite the Game 3 defeat.

“Yesterday was a tough (loss) but we flushed it right away, to us it’s one game at a time, one pitch at a time and thank God we come in with a ‘W’ today,” Guerrero Jr. said after the game on the FOX broadcast. “I believe in this team and this team is something special.”

Fresh off a historic Game 3 performance, Ohtani made his first career World Series start on the mound. In six-plus innings, the Japanese pitcher gave up four runs on six hits while striking out six batters and walking one.

Ohtani was lifted in the seventh inning. Toronto would score four runs in the inning as Ohtani took the loss.

Ohtani had reached base safely a World Series-record 11 consecutive times after walking in the first inning, but Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber struck him out in the third inning, ending the impressive streak. Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats and struck out twice.

Bieber picked up the victory for Toronto after tossing five-and-a-third innings and giving up just one run on four hits.

After what he described as “the biggest start of my career,” Bieber spoke to broadcaster FOX about the Blue Jays’ fortitude.

“We have so many guys that are capable of impacting the game in a positive way, and since I got traded over here, that’s exactly who we’ve been,” the mid-season acquisition said.

“It’s just a pleasure to be a part of this group.”

Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who was 2-for-4 in Game 4 and is riding a 10-game postseason hitting streak, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

“That’s what we do – we bounce back,” Clement told FOX. “We got a resilient group, and it’s a testament to the character in our clubhouse.”

The winner of Game 4 of the Fall Classic has won the title 72% of the time.

Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday at Dodger Stadium in a rematch between Game 1 starters Trey Yesavage for Toronto and Blake Snell for Los Angeles.

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This story has been updated with additional reporting.