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

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, 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 processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the rally: 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 Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.