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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked 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 Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next 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 rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb early setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.