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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 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 sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an decisive win.