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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous 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 LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.