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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat 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 ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. 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.

Banda inherited the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.