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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. 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 streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.