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The World Series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, driving in Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to retire Barger, sealing the victory and giving the pitcher his first-ever successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The series now boils 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 Washington. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to be the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.