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This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home audience that had come ready to celebrate the city’s championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

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

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, tying a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second time in a seven days, giving up one run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

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

Relief Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, entered in relief and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire Barger, sealing the victory and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.