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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated 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 series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.