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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

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

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, five brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 win.