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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected hits, five brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.