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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed 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 was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

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

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.