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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in runs and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.