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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.