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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the series and his 7th homer this postseason – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That swing also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight plate appearances getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the game progressed. Even so, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when he eventually ran out of steam.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp single to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who departed to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous batting order. He gave up one run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. He required just 4 throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became comfortable.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to sputter. Los Angeles have produced only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to build.

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of missed opportunities, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, five drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and perhaps the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the series even and momentum shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased Snell early in an 11-4 win.