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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

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

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early setbacks and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.