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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a double 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 local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability 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 Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed almost every scoring chance available in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and energy swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 win.