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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home scores and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an decisive victory.