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Only 24 hours following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early score did not rattle a Blue Jays team that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand early setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that soon became comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 win.