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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

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

Anthony Banda came into 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 followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Closing Innings

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

After a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring opportunity available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.