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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean 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 slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.