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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left. France followed 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 Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.