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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away 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 the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.