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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond 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 11-4 win.