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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.