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

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

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, completing a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early setbacks and answer has defined their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

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

Game 5 approaches with the series even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt 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 knocked out Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.