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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed 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 stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.