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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés 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 enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

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

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.