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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

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 sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. 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 came into the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the squad cashed almost every scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive win.