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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed 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 shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, 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 record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.