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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.