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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base 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. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive win.