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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive victory.