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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

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 runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.