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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames 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 star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single 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 contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 win.