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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

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

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive win.