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The World Series is headed to a final seventh game following the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final twin killing, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He fanned eight through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, allowing a single run on five hits over six innings 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, scoring Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to double off the runner, clinching the win and earning the pitcher his first-ever save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.