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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees 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 homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond 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 decisive victory.