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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season 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's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.