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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

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

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.