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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field 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 seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.