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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, 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 inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 victory.