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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

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

Closing Moments

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

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.