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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero 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 new team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

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

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad cashed almost every scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

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