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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, 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 average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked 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 over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in 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 the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander 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 Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.