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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero'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 forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He required just four throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Toronto players recorded base hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive win.