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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

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

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive victory.