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

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base 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 requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring 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 Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an 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 allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Toronto players collected hits, five drove in scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.