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

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 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 Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand early blows and respond has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.