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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single 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 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new club mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in 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 the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.