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Only 24 hours after staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total command.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Bieber delivered a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the World Series at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to lead the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider stated later that “they took a game, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided convincing proof.

Early Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy drew a walk in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback wins this season.

They responded right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero came to the plate hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his first extra-base hit of the World Series and his 7th home run this postseason – a new club record – regaining the Toronto's advantage after 13 shutout frames and changing the tone of the game.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive at-bats reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had hit two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior extra-inning game.

Ohtani fastball velocity sat below his seasonal norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his usual control, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

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

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right field, and Clement smashed a double off the wall to put two on with none out. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the jam and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a single to left. France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Addison Barger punched run-scoring singles through the infield, capping a four-score barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Toronto's Toughness

The Blue Jays's ability to absorb initial blows and answer has characterized their whole run. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who left Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto required. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and quieted the Dodgers' potent lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to face the core of the order in the sixth inning. He required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a narrow advantage that soon became safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Los Angeles' bats kept to sputter. The Dodgers have scored only three scores over their previous 20 innings, an sudden slowdown for a team that was among MLB's top lineups all year.

Final Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Max Muncy's double put two on base. But Varland closed it down without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when Toronto stranded a World Series-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after wave upon wave of wasted chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. Six separate Toronto players recorded hits, five brought home runs and the team cashed almost every run-scoring opportunity presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The victory guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a championship since Carter's famous walk-off home run in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a packed crowd in Canada on Friday night – and perhaps Saturday – no matter what occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and energy shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles left-hander Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of the opener, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an 11-4 victory.