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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

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

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an decisive win.