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

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and guaranteeing the matchup will head back to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had passed the morning of Tuesday dealing with their marathon Game 3 loss – equal to the longest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both bullpens. Skipper Schneider insisted later that “they took a contest, not the championship”. A day later, his team provided emphatic proof.

Initial Action

The Los Angeles again scored first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto club that topped MLB with 49 comeback victories this season.

They answered right away in the third inning. Lukes lined a one away single to center field and Guerrero stepped in looking for a curveball. Ohtani threw a sweeper up and he sent it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his initial long hit of the series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless frames and changing the momentum of the game.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Ohtani's record-setting streak of 11 consecutive at-bats getting on base. The dual-threat star had hit two homers and got on base a historic nine times in the Dodgers' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he took the mound on limited rest – his briefest ever – after requiring an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

His fastball velocity was below his regular-season norm and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's homer and striking out six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his World Series streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when Ohtani eventually ran out of energy.

Varsho opened the seventh inning with a clean single to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put runners on with no outs. Dave Roberts had little choice but to pull Ohtani, who departed to a roaring applause from the local fans. The Los Angeles' bullpen could not finish the inning.

Banda inherited the jam and immediately fell behind. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in the runner with a base hit to left. Ty France followed with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was enough to knock Banda out of the game. Treinen entered next but also was unable to stop the rally: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Toughness

The Toronto's ability to withstand initial blows and answer has defined their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order man who exited the third game after tweaking his right side.

Bieber, meanwhile, was everything the Blue Jays needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded several runners and quieted the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year pitcher Mason Fluharty to face the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just 4 pitches to get out Muncy and Edman, protecting a narrow lead that soon grew safe.

Converted starting pitcher Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' offense continued to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden slowdown for a team that ranked among MLB's elite offenses all season.

Final Moments

The Dodgers scraped a run in the ninth inning when Tommy Edman hit into an out to bring home Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put two aboard. But Varland finished the game without permitting a rally to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, Game 4 was ruthlessly effective. Six separate Toronto players collected hits, 5 drove in runs and the team converted nearly every scoring opportunity presented in the late innings.

Looking Ahead

The win ensures the World Series trophy will be presented at their home stadium, where the Blue Jays have not won a championship since Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in '93. 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.

The fifth game approaches with the matchup even and energy shifting to Toronto. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto respond with first-year player Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Toronto knocked out Snell quickly in an decisive win.