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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the early score 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 lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés 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 knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive victory.