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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.