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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty 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 came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff man who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score 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 comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 different Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive victory.