🔗 Share this article

This year's championship series is going to a final Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-run single to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.

Relief Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire Barger, sealing the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

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