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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated later that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.