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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 win.