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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.