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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

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

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.