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Only 24 hours after 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 composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin 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 succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an decisive win.