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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh with a sharp hit to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial setbacks and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the lineup in the sixth. He required just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five brought home runs and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 victory.