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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining defeats in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero smashed 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 evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays club that led MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a fresh club mark – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout innings and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also halted Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The two-way star had hit two homers and reached safely 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 extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity was under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his typical control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Seventh Inning Surge

The larger issue for Los Angeles was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Dodgers' relief corps could not complete the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. Ty France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's capacity to absorb early blows and respond has defined their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty required just four throws to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats continued to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a team that was among baseball's top offenses all year.

Closing Innings

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally efficient. Six separate Blue Jays recorded base hits, five brought home runs and the squad converted nearly every scoring chance presented in the late stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the World Series title will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are assured a full house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

The fifth game looms with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays respond 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.