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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run 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 finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.