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This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second time in a seven days, giving up a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift 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. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to retire the runner, sealing the victory and earning the pitcher his first-ever save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.