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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers 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 recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an decisive win.