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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing 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 head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak 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' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.