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

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the series will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a single and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this year.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes hit a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and he sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh club record – regaining the Toronto's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two home runs 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 requiring an IV to recuperate from the prior extra-inning game.

His pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest wore on. Even so, he showed glimpses of his typical command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's homer and fanning six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Seventh Inning Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left. Ty France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Barger hit RBI base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run barrage that pushed the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

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

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four throws to retire Muncy and Edman, protecting a fragile lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only three runs over their last 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a club that was among MLB's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a run in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, five drove in runs and the team cashed nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run in '93. They now know they are assured a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series even and momentum swinging north. Dodgers left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive victory.