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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new club record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became safe.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.