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The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out eight through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing one run on five 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 resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, scoring Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to hold at second and third base.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and got a pop fly before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to double off the runner, clinching the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.