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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

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 breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended 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 Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, 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 sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and 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 home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial 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 tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.