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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

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 famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.