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Less than a day after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he 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 jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next 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 stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the diamond, completing a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

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

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and silenced the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. 6 different Toronto players collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Next Up

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

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.