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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base 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 fastball velocity was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive win.