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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new club record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top offenses all season.

Final Innings

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

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.