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

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day processing their marathon third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early score did not shake a Blue Jays club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out base hit to center field and Guerrero came to the plate looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this postseason – a new team mark – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and changing the momentum of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a single to left. Ty 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 contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who left Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for mid-season while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among baseball's top lineups all season.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Blue Jays collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad converted almost every scoring chance available in the final innings.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are assured a packed crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive victory.