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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr'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 six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 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 knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 brought home scores and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.