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The World Series is going to a decisive Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

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

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

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, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, driving in Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and got a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández made the catch and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the win and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.