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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto 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 guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.