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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck 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 rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.