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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.