🔗 Share this article

The championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the city’s first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he faced. He struck out 8 through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a seven days, allowing one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Kirk to open the inning. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a short outing.