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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer 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 hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.