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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays displayed total command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and he sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

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

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early setbacks and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players collected base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.