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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive win.