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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive win.