🔗 Share this article

This year's World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up a single run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.

Relief Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Kirk to start the inning. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.