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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed 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 home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.