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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a steady start as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the lengthiest World Series game ever – a loss that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager John Schneider stated afterwards that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his squad provided emphatic proof.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this season.

They responded immediately in the third inning. Lukes hit a one-out single to center field and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial long hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new club mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout innings and shifting the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making streak of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat phenomenon had smashed 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 shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the contest wore on. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his usual 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 Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger issue for the Dodgers was what came next when Ohtani eventually lost steam.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement smashed a double off the wall to put runners on with no outs. Roberts had little choice but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not complete the escape.

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 groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stem the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial blows and respond has characterized their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff man who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent batting order. He gave up one run on four base hits and three free passes before the manager called on rookie left-hander Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He required just 4 pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that quickly became comfortable.

Former starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only 3 scores over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a team that was among MLB's top offenses all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers scraped a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a base on balls and Max Muncy's two-base hit put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without allowing a rally to develop.

Following a night when Toronto left a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was ruthlessly efficient. Six different Blue Jays collected hits, 5 brought home runs and the squad cashed nearly every scoring opportunity available in the late stanzas.

Next Up

The win ensures the World Series title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a title since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup even and energy swinging to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Toronto knocked out the starter early in an 11-4 victory.