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Less than a day following staggering through one of the most exhausting losses in World Series annals, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber delivered a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had spent the early hours of the next day dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a loss that cost them the chance to lead the series and burned through both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again scored first. Muncy walked in the second, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not shake a Blue Jays team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this year.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr came to the plate looking for a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero sent it soaring over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his 7th home run this playoffs – a new club record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the game.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also halted Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The two-way star had smashed two home runs and got on base a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on that night, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game progressed. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual command, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and striking out six. He even walked in the first to extend his World Series record. But the Toronto forced him to labor: six base hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six frames.

Late Game Rally

The larger problem for Los Angeles was what came next when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started 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 the starter, who departed to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Dodgers' relief corps could not finish the escape.

Anthony Banda came into the mess and immediately fell behind. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring the runner with a single to left field. Ty France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was enough to remove Banda out of the contest. Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the rally: Bichette and Barger hit RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-score barrage that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and respond has defined their whole postseason. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt leadoff hitter who exited Game 3 after tweaking his oblique.

Shane Bieber, in contrast, was exactly what the Blue Jays needed. Traded for during the summer while completing recovery from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left multiple runners and silenced the Dodgers' potent batting order. He allowed one run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider summoned rookie pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that quickly became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense kept to sputter. The Dodgers have produced only three scores over their last 20 innings, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Varland closed it down without permitting a rally to build.

Following a night when the Blue Jays stranded a Fall Classic-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly efficient. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, five brought home scores and the team converted almost every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Next Up

The win guarantees the championship trophy will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not celebrated a title since Carter's iconic walk-off homer in 1993. They now are aware they are guaranteed a full crowd in Canada on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in LA.

Game 5 approaches with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays knocked out the starter quickly in an decisive win.