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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 victory.