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

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Action

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

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh club record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has characterized 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 oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

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 homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.