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The championship series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic final double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

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

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason 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 earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his return to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to retire Barger, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

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