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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and 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 wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club record – restoring the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a record 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 below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally lost steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their last 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all year.

Closing Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team cashed almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now are aware they are assured a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an decisive win.