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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the morning of Tuesday processing their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the series and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes hit a one away base hit to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a fresh team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the escape.

Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who exited Game 3 after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

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

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

After a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 separate Toronto players collected hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in '93. They now know they are assured a packed house in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased Snell quickly in an 11-4 victory.