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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial blows and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, five drove in runs and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.