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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto 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 matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners 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 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous game-winning homer 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.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive win.