🔗 Share this article

This year's World Series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit 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 a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to hold at second and third base.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to double off Barger, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first-ever save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a short outing.