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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk 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 Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has defined their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an decisive victory.