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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost energy.

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

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded 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 first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted almost every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.