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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Final Innings

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

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected hits, five drove in runs and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive victory.