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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated 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 the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.