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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto 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 return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored 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 year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five drove in scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.