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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb early blows and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Final Moments

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

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.