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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they took a game, not the championship”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered convincing proof.

Early Action

The Dodgers again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They answered immediately in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That swing also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his regular-season norm and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull the starter, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger punched RBI base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while completing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- award-winning winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider called on first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon grew comfortable.

Converted starter Chris Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to struggle. Los Angeles have produced only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a club that ranked among baseball's top lineups all year.

Closing Innings

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

Following a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players recorded hits, 5 drove in scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.