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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single 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 entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.