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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single 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 entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.