Blue Jays tie World Series with Dodgers, secure return to Toronto

With a two-run home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. the Toronto Toronto Blue Jays won 6x2 at the Dodgers of Los Angeles on Tuesday and tied (2-2) the World Series aggregate.

The Canadians bounced back from Monday’s marathon loss, which tied the record of 18 innings for a World Series game, and kept alive their hopes of winning their first title in 32 years.

Ohtani made his pitching debut

All-Star Shohei Ohtani made his debut as a pitcher in a World Series for the Dodgers, now forced to travel back to Toronto for their second consecutive crown. The best-of-seven-game series will see a fifth game Wednesday in Los Angeles before moving to Toronto for the sixth chapter Friday and, if necessary, a seventh and final on Saturday.

"We knew it was going to be a great series," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in an acknowledgment of his rival. "This team is talented, they're resilient and they came back fighting..... We just didn't have an answer."

Blue Jays, better recovery from previous marathon game

The big unknown Tuesday was who would bounce back better from the previous day's grueling clash, which stretched nearly seven hours until Freddie Freeman's winning home run near midnight.

The Angels took the lead in the playoffs but burned out the arms of their entire bullpen, so they needed a long, productive opening day from Ohtani on Tuesday.

Ohtani, neutralized

The last time he took the mound, in the Championship Series against Milwaukee, Ohtani sealed one of the best performances ever with 10 strikeouts and three home runs on offense.

This Tuesday the Japanese prodigy proved he is human, striking out six opponents but giving up six hits and a base on balls in six innings. His at-bat drew only one base on balls, a far cry from his extraordinary previous night, in which he hit two home runs and broke a playoff record by reaching base nine times.

"This time of year we face the best of the best, so it's not that easy," Ohtani said before being self-critical. "At the same time, we could do at least the bare minimum to score some runs."

Ohtani had his worst moment in the third inning when, in a titanic duel with Guerrero Jr. he laced a two-run homer.

The Dominican, with more responsibility in the face of the loss of George Springer, became the Blue Jays player with most homers in playoffs, with a total of seven, all this year. "I always try to compete for my city and for the team, and when you compete, good things happen," said Guerrero Jr, also Canadian by birth.

Roaring seventh inning

A sacrifice fly by Puerto Rican Kiké Hernández allowed Max Muncy to open the scoring for the Dodgers in the second inning.

Toronto took the lead on Guerrero Jr.'s home run and took off in a four-run seventh inning when Ohtani had already left the mound after hits by Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho.

Relief pitcher Anthony Banda was greeted with a single by Venezuelan Andrés Giménez that brought in the third Canadian run, credited to Varsho. Clement, Giménez, and Guerrero Jr. then crossed home plate.

Trailing by five runs, the home side barely made up the score in the last inning with a homer by Dominican Teoscar Hernandez.