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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

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

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.