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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. 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 stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.