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The championship series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home crowd that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire Barger, clinching the win and giving Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The series now comes down to one game. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be baseball’s initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a short outing.