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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, five drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

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

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.