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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's fly out. But the initial 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. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he labored more as the game wore on. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Daulton Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in 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 sufficient to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the diamond, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb initial setbacks and respond has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players collected hits, five drove in scores and the squad converted almost every scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since 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 perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

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