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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away 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 left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive victory.