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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.