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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani'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 hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in the runner with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand early blows and respond has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly became safe.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

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

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.