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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. 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 issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb early setbacks and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance 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 title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.