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This year's championship series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the 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 thrilling final double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing one run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

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

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be the sport's initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.