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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

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

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.