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Less than a day after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic annals, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will head back to Toronto.

Toronto had passed the morning of the next day processing their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Manager Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the championship”. A day later, his team offered emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one away base hit to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what came next when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, completing a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

Following a night when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the matchup even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an 11-4 victory.