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This year's championship series is going to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes alive Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out six of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, 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 Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

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