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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated 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 Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

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

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an decisive win.