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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. 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 the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.