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Less than a day following enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run homer and Bieber provided a steady start as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, squaring the World Series at two games each and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon third game defeat – equal to the longest Fall Classic contest ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “the Dodgers won a game, not the championship”. A day later, his squad offered convincing evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy drew a walk in the second, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a breaking ball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he drove it soaring over the outfield fence. It was his first extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this postseason – a new team record – regaining the Blue Jays's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his shortest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity sat under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed glimpses of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four runs were charged to him in six-plus frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a clean hit to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the inning.

Banda inherited the mess and immediately trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner 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 knock Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stop the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to withstand early setbacks and answer has characterized their whole postseason. They once again did it without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything the Blue Jays required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner left several baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before the manager summoned first-year left-hander Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to retire Max Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's top lineups all season.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Louis Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to develop.

After a night when Toronto left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. 6 different Toronto players collected base hits, 5 brought home scores and the team cashed nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in '93. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Toronto's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto chased Snell early in an decisive win.