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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. 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 shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive victory.