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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run 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 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.