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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat 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's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

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

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in runs and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.