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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

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

They answered right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in 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 knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.