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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.