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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed 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 failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.