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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive victory.