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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial setbacks and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Moments

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

After a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.