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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an decisive victory.