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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures 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 '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.