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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat 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 guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes 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 World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. 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 entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left 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 rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

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

After a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.