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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady 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 ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.