🔗 Share this article

This year's World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes intact Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic final twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing one run on five base hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, scoring Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire Barger, sealing the victory and earning Glasnow his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence 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.