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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.