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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “they won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided convincing proof.

Early Action

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

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

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

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon became comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.