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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Blue Jays club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity was below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left field. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. Fluharty required just 4 throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. 6 separate Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.