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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial 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 centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice 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 stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.