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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 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 remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an decisive victory.