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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

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

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.