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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories 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 breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an decisive win.