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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés 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 sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand 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 tweaking his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try 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 Toronto chased the starter early in an decisive victory.