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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win 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 are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.