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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. 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 issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the team cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.