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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial blows and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

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

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and energy swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an decisive victory.