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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's top offenses all year.

Final Moments

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

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.