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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend 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 Rally

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted almost every scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player 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.