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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Manager John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered convincing proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. 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 homer this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally ran out of steam.

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and right away fell behind. Giménez battled to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice 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 rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for during the summer while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four throws to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Blue Jays recorded hits, five brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.