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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity 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 man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive win.