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

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity was below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest 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 Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.