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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays displayed complete command.

Guerrero crushed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season average and he struggled more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp single to right, and Ernie Clement drilled a two-base hit off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not complete the escape.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to withstand early blows and answer has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Acquired during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner left multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. He needed just four throws to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon became safe.

Former starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what happens next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series even and energy shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.