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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Ernie 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 exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays 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 11-4 win.