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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early blows and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.