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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will return to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new club mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

The bigger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani finally lost energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. 6 separate Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in scores and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the series even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.