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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost steam.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.