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Less than a day following enduring one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete command.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that cost them the chance to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing evidence.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a base hit and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that led MLB with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 scoreless frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That swing also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances getting on base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his seasonal norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Varsho started the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement drilled a double off the wall to put runners 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.

Anthony Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who left the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and quieted the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among baseball's elite lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

Following a game when Toronto stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The victory ensures the World Series title will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell quickly in an decisive win.