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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr 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 World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive 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 started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left several runners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an decisive victory.