🔗 Share this article

This year's World Series is going to a final Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith doubled to left to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat World Series victors since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up one 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 single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off the runner, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.