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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké 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 year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.