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Only 24 hours after enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays played with total control.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr crushed a two-run home run and Bieber provided a steady outing as Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in the fourth game on Tuesday night at their home ballpark, squaring the Fall Classic at two wins apiece and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

The Blue Jays had spent the morning of the next day dealing with their 18-inning third game defeat – equal to the lengthiest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that denied them the chance to take the lead in the series and depleted both bullpens. Skipper John Schneider stated later that “the Dodgers won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his squad offered emphatic evidence.

Early Action

The Los Angeles again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a single and scored on Kiké Hernández's sacrifice fly. But the early breakthrough did not shake a Toronto club that topped Major League Baseball with 49 come-from-behind wins this season.

They answered immediately in the third. Lukes lined a one away base hit to centre and Vladimir Guerrero Jr stepped in hunting a breaking ball. Shohei Ohtani left a slider up and Guerrero drove it screaming over the outfield fence. It was his first long hit of the World Series and his 7th homer this postseason – a new club mark – restoring the Toronto's advantage after 13 scoreless innings and shifting the tone of the night.

Shohei's Performance

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's record-setting run of 11 straight plate appearances reaching base. The two-way phenomenon had smashed two homers and reached safely a record nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his shortest ever – after requiring an IV to recuperate from the previous marathon.

His fastball velocity sat below his regular-season average and he labored more as the game wore on. Nonetheless, he showed flashes of his usual command, retiring 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and fanning six. He even walked in the first inning to extend his Fall Classic streak. But the Blue Jays made him work: six base hits and four runs were credited to him in six-plus innings.

Late Game Surge

The larger problem for the Dodgers was what came next when he finally lost energy.

Varsho started the seventh with a clean hit to right field, and Ernie Clement drilled a double off the fence to put runners on with none out. Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who exited to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the jam and immediately fell behind. Giménez battled to a 3-2 count before driving in Varsho with a single to left. France came up next with a groundout to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the contest. Blake Treinen entered next but also failed to stop the momentum: Bichette and Addison Barger punched RBI singles through the infield, capping a four-run outburst that extended the margin to 6-1.

Toronto's Resilience

The Blue Jays's ability to withstand early setbacks and respond has characterized their whole run. They once again succeeded without George Springer, the injured top-of-the-order hitter who exited the third game after straining his right side.

Bieber, in contrast, was everything Toronto needed. Acquired mid-season while finishing rehab from elbow surgery, the former Cy Young winner stranded multiple baserunners and silenced the Los Angeles' dangerous lineup. He gave up one earned run on four base hits and three free passes before Schneider called on first-year pitcher Fluharty to confront the core of the order in the sixth. Fluharty needed just 4 throws to get out Muncy and Edman, preserving a narrow lead that quickly grew comfortable.

Converted starting pitcher Chris Bassitt then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth as the Dodgers' offense kept to struggle. Los Angeles have scored only 3 scores over their last 20 frames, an abrupt slowdown for a team that ranked among baseball's elite offenses all year.

Final Innings

The Dodgers managed a score in the ninth when Tommy Edman hit into an out to score Hernández after a walk and Muncy's double put runners aboard. But Varland finished the game without allowing a comeback to build.

After a game when the Blue Jays stranded a World Series-record 19 runners and collapsed after repeated of missed opportunities, Game 4 was brutally efficient. 6 separate Toronto players collected base hits, 5 drove in runs and the squad cashed almost every run-scoring chance presented in the final stanzas.

Looking Ahead

The win guarantees the championship title will be presented at Rogers Centre, where the Toronto have not won a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a packed house in Canada on Friday evening – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game looms with the matchup reset and momentum swinging north. Los Angeles left-hander Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will attempt to halt the Blue Jays's momentum. Toronto respond with first-year player Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a rematch of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter early in an decisive win.