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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting defeats in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes hit a one away single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on that night, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The bigger problem for Los Angeles was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock the pitcher out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted nearly every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles left-hander 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 rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.