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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes hit 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 he 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 club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

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