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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.