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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record 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 previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning 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 six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.