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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

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

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an decisive victory.