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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining defeats in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Guerrero crushed a two-run home run and Shane Bieber delivered a composed start as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of Tuesday processing their 18-inning third game defeat – tied for the longest World Series contest ever – a defeat that denied them the chance to lead the series and burned through both relief corps. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a game, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his squad offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Dodgers again scored first. Max Muncy drew a walk in the second, advanced on a base hit and crossed the plate on Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial breakthrough did not rattle a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind victories this year.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a new club record – regaining the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Shohei's Night

That hit also halted Shohei Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two home runs and reached safely a record nine times in the Dodgers' third game walk-off. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat under his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he displayed glimpses of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series streak. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

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

Varsho started the seventh with a clean single to right, and Clement smashed a two-base hit off the wall to put two on with none out. Roberts had little choice but to pull the starter, who exited to a roaring applause from the home crowd. The Dodgers' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a full count before driving in Varsho with a base hit to left. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the infield, capping a four-score outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's capacity to withstand initial setbacks and respond has characterized their entire postseason. They once again did it without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just 4 pitches to retire Muncy and Edman, preserving a fragile lead that quickly grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. The Dodgers have scored only 3 runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that was among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth inning when Edman grounded out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put two aboard. But Louis Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after wave upon wave of wasted opportunities, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six different Toronto players recorded base hits, five brought home scores and the squad cashed almost every scoring chance presented in the final innings.

Looking Ahead

The victory ensures the championship title will be awarded at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run in '93. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what occurs next in LA.

Game 5 looms with the matchup reset and momentum shifting north. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter early in an decisive win.