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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday processing their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Toronto team that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – restoring the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice 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 hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-run outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff man who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Final Moments

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

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after repeated of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, five drove in scores and the squad converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.