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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive victory.