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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 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.

His fastball velocity sat below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous 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.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto 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 decisive win.