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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will head back to Canada.

Toronto had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – tied for the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a defeat that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad provided emphatic evidence.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a single and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They responded immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate hunting a breaking ball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 shutout frames and shifting the momentum of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Dodgers' third game comeback win. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on short rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal norm and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed flashes of his usual control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani finally ran out of steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement drilled a double off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the game. Blake Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bo Bichette and Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to confront the core of the lineup in the sixth inning. He required just four throws to retire Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile advantage that quickly grew safe.

Former starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats continued to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to build.

After a night when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home scores and the squad converted almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final innings.

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 Carter's famous game-winning homer in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and perhaps the next day – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Toronto's surge. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 win.