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The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out six of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to retire Barger, clinching the win and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.