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The World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to celebrate the city’s first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat World Series victors since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run 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 starting nine after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to retire Barger, sealing the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.