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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher 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 the starter quickly in an decisive victory.