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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new club record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five drove in scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive victory.