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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed 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 short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has defined their entire run. 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 Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Final Innings

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

Following a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher 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 Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.