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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.