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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out 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 earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

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. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.