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

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

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

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.