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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.