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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

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

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive win.