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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing 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 games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. 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 advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored 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 World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded hits, five brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.