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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

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

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand initial setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and energy swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an decisive victory.