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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early blows and respond has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive win.