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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two games each and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his seasonal average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who left the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among baseball's top offenses all season.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive victory.