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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

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

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers 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 Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an decisive victory.