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Less than a day after enduring one of the most draining losses in World Series history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with complete control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run homer and Shane Bieber provided a composed outing as the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, tying the World Series at two games each and ensuring the series will return to Canada.

The Blue Jays had passed the early hours of the next day processing their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest World Series game ever – a defeat that denied them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and burned through both relief corps. Manager Schneider insisted later that “the Dodgers took a contest, not the World Series”. Twenty-three hours later, his team offered emphatic proof.

Initial Innings

The Los Angeles again struck first. Max Muncy walked in the second inning, advanced on a base hit and scored on Hernández's fly out. But the initial score did not rattle a Toronto team that led Major League Baseball with 49 comeback victories this season.

They responded right away in the third. Lukes lined a one-out base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a curveball. Ohtani left a sweeper up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the series and his seventh homer this playoffs – a fresh team mark – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 shutout frames and shifting the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Performance

That hit also ended Ohtani's history-making run of 11 consecutive plate appearances reaching base. The dual-threat star had smashed two homers and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 walk-off. But on Tuesday, he started on short rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recuperate from the previous extra-inning game.

Ohtani pitch speed sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the contest progressed. Nonetheless, he showed glimpses of his typical command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first to continue his World Series record. But the Toronto made him work: six base hits and four earned runs were credited to him in over six innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger issue for the Dodgers was what followed when he eventually lost energy.

Daulton Varsho opened the seventh with a sharp hit to right field, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with none out. Roberts had no option but to pull Ohtani, 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 mess and right away trailed in the count. Andrés Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before scoring the runner with a base hit to left field. France followed with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to knock the pitcher out of the contest. Treinen came in next but also was unable to stem the momentum: Bo Bichette and Addison Barger hit RBI base hits through the infield, completing a four-run barrage that extended the lead to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Toronto's ability to absorb initial setbacks and answer has characterized their entire run. They once again succeeded without Springer, the hurt top-of-the-order hitter who exited Game 3 after straining his right side.

Shane Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what the Blue Jays required. Acquired during the summer while finishing rehab from Tommy John surgery, the ex- award-winning winner left several runners and quieted the Dodgers' dangerous lineup. He allowed one earned run on four base hits and three walks before the manager called on first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the lineup in the sixth. He needed just four pitches to retire Muncy and Tommy Edman, preserving a fragile advantage that soon grew safe.

Former starter Chris Bassitt then pitched a clean seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' bats kept to sputter. Los Angeles have scored only three scores over their last 20 innings, an abrupt downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all year.

Closing Moments

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Edman grounded out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners on base. But Varland finished the game without permitting a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays left a Fall Classic-record 19 baserunners and fell apart after repeated of missed chances, the fourth contest was brutally effective. 6 different Toronto players recorded base hits, 5 brought home runs and the team cashed almost every scoring chance available in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The victory guarantees the championship trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not won a title since Joe 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 occurs next in Los Angeles.

Game 5 approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting to Toronto. Los Angeles pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. Toronto counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of the opener, when the Blue Jays knocked out Snell early in an 11-4 victory.